Why Kirk Cousins to Falcons is a strong fit; NFL free agency winners and losers

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🏈 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

KIRK COUSINS AND THE ATLANTA FALCONS ...

The Falcons finally got their quarterback, and he's a terrific fit. Kirk Cousins is joining Atlanta on a four-year, $180 million deal after six years with the Vikings.

I've liked Cousins' game more than most, even with full understanding of his downsides and limitations. A majority of NFL teams would be upgrading if they had Cousins; Atlanta is no exception. The combination of Desmond Ridder/Marcus Mariota/Taylor Heinicke got the Falcons nowhere. Now, they have their answer at the game's most important position. I wrote about why Cousins makes sense in Atlanta:

Pereles: "Over the past two seasons, Cousins used play action on 28.8% of his dropbacks, fourth in the NFL, and he thrived on those throws. ... What's exciting, though, is that Cousins is quite adept on straight dropbacks, too. On non-play action throws, he posted career-bests in completion percentage (68.9%), yards per attempt (7.7), touchdown rate (5.9%) and off-target rate (6.8%). The Falcons can lean on straight dropbacks when needed and believe in Cousins' ability to make the right play."

I also wrote about how this move impacts Drake London and Kyle Pitts, and Jamey Eisenberg assessed the Fantasy Fallout. Long story short, it's good for all parties.

... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE REST OF FREE AGENCY'S BIG WINNERS

We talk often about the coaching carousel and the quarterback carousel, but the running back carousel? Not so much ... until today. Cousins was the biggest story of Day 1, but a surprisingly active running back market wasn't far behind.

Saquon Barkley was the headliner: The former Giants star agreed to a three-year, $37.75 million pact with the Eagles. I love this move, and so does Jeff Kerr: Philadelphia received an "A" grade for it in our Day 1 free agency grades, and Cody Benjamin went into more detail on why the gamble makes sense.

Tiki Barber, though, was none too happy, saying, "You're dead to us, Saquon." Yikes. Barkley rightfully fired back.

Elsewhere on the running back carousel ...

The Packers added Josh Jacobs on a four-year, $48 million deal and released Aaron Jones.
Joe Mixon is out, and Zack Moss is in for the Bengals.
D'Andre Swift agreed to a deal with the Bears.
New York found Barkley's successor in Devin Singletary.
Tony Pollard is heading to the Titans.
The Commanders added Austin Ekeler as Antonio Gibson joined the Patriots.

I wish I could break down every signing, but I have 1) a deadline and 2) editors who need sleep every once in a while, so here are other top Monday transactions:

Along with the Jacobs signing and the Jones subtraction, the Packers agreed to a four-year, $68 million deal with Xavier McKinney and released David Bakhtiari.
The Raiders and Christian Wilkins agreed to a four-year, $110 million deal. He and Maxx Crosby make a dynamic duo.
Also on the defensive line, Jonathan Greenard joined Minnesota, and Bryce Huff joined Philadelphia.
Two under-the-radar first days I liked: The Jaguars' biggest move was adding Gabe Davis, but Darnell Savage, Ronald Darby and Mitch Morse are all very solid. The Commanders added Dorace Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz -- both coming from Dallas, just like coach Dan Quinn -- linebacker Frankie Luvu and Ekeler.
Guys staying put (and getting paid): Michael Pittman Jr. (three years, $71.5 million) Mike Onwenu (three years, $57 million), Dion Dawkins (three years, $60.5 million) and Landon Dickerson (four years, $84 million)

There are still plenty of top-tier guys available -- Danielle Hunter, anyone? -- so keep our live blog and signing tracker handy.

😁 Honorable mentions

In case you missed it, our new NBA podcast, Beyond the Arc, had its opening episode Monday.
It'll be Tyler Glasnow vs. Yu Darvish in the MLB season opener on March 20.
The Bears have new plans for their stadium.
Daniel Gafford has made 28 straight field goals, and he's getting close to the mark of one Wilt Chamberlain.
James Madison (Sun Belt) and Samford (SoCon) are going dancing. I wrote about the Dukes in late January, and David Cobb wrote about the Bulldogs last month ... so don't say you didn't see these coming!
The UConn women won the Big East Tournament again.
College football attendance rose to its highest average since 2007.
Here are the new men's AP Top 25, men's Coaches Poll and women's AP Top 25.

😒 And not such a good morning for ...

THE CAROLINA PANTHERS

At the 2022 trade deadline, the Panthers turned down two first-round picks and a second-round pick from the Rams for Brian Burns. It would have been a marvelous haul, but Carolina was committed to Burns as a franchise cornerstone.

Fast forward to now, and not only are the Panthers not committed to Burns, but he's not even on the team. Carolina traded its star edge rusher to the Giants, who immediately signed him to a five-year, $150 million deal with $87.5 million guaranteed. The return for Carolina? Second- and fifth-round picks.

So, since that fateful trade deadline, the Panthers ...

committed to Burns -- eschewing a king's ransom -- all to go 7-19, have four different coaches and fail to give Burns a long-term deal;
made a so-far disastrous trade that gave Chicago this year's No. 1 pick;
traded away Burns for pennies after they could have made hundreds

This is borderline malpractice.

The Panthers did spend a lot of money Monday, giving guard Robert Hunt a five-year, $100-million deal and guard Damien Lewis a four-year, $53-million deal. I think Hunt will help Bryce Young, but that's a massive deal, especially for a team with so many holes.

Then again, the reason for those holes are awful moves like these. Since 2022, the Panthers have traded away young stars Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Burns and received underwhelming returns. Hindsight is 20/20, but you can't be without any foresight at this level. Carolina already had the league's worst roster before losing a premier young talent at a premier position and still having no first-round pick.

Things were bad. They're getting worse.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

Gerrit Cole will undergo an MRI on his elbow. Here are options for the Yankees if he misses time.
The Giants released J.D. Davis.
The Lakers' new Kobe Bryant statue has multiple misspelled words on it.
Lucas Giolito will have elbow surgery.
The Rays sent Junior Caminero back to the minors.
Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. will miss the Big 12 Tournament.

👀 What's next for Vikings, Bengals, Justin Fields?

When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah became the Vikings' GM, he said he'd oversee a "competitive rebuild." For the last two years, Minnesota was competitive. Now, with Cousins gone, the rebuild begins in earnest, although the team did sign Sam Darnold to a one-year deal late last night.

Cody spelled out the pros and cons of Cousins moving on, a great summary of why Vikings fans may feel conflicted. On the bright side, there's the prospect of drafting a quarterback, Chris Trapasso writes.

Trapasso: "Armed with the No. 11 overall pick, even if the Vikings sign a Sam Darnold, all sights *have* to be set on the club drafting its heir apparent to Cousins this April. Whether they can get who they want at No. 11 or have to trade into the top 10 -- presumably ahead of the Giants at No. 6 overall -- remains to be seen. But this departure signals the Vikings will be key players in the draft's quarterback market."

Chris did a great job breaking down how all of the big moves impacted the draft.

Then there are two more big names who haven't left ... yet. Tee Higgins requested a trade from Cincinnati after no progress on a long-term deal. Higgins -- currently on the franchise tag -- would have many suitors, Jared Dubin writes.

Justin Fields, meanwhile, watched his list of suitors dwindle. The Falcons, Steelers (Russell Wilson), Raiders (Gardner Minshew) and Patriots (Jacoby Brissett) were all thought of as landing spots before they went different ways, making Fields' trade market one of Day 1's biggest losers, Cody writes.

⚽ UEFA Champions League: Arsenal-Porto, Barcelona-Napoli preview, picks

Two more teams will book spots in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal today, and you can see who it will be on Paramount+.

Arsenal vs. Porto (Porto lead 1-0) (preview)
FC Barcelona vs. Napoli (1-1) (preview)

Yes, the Gunners trail, but there's a strong (not unanimous) feeling in our staff picks that they'll advance. James Benge says ...

Benge: "Man of the Match pick: Jorginho -- In a game riven by fouls and cynicism in Porto, Arsenal lost their cool. Would that have happened if Jorginho, in such inspired form of late, had been in the side from the outset? Probably not ... Match prediction: Arsenal 2, Porto 0 – Mikel Arteta's side are in exceptional form of late ... If they play up to their abilities they can win this handily."

Jorginho also leads James' players to watch. You can see the full streaming schedule here, staff picks here and Tom Fornelli's Corner Picks here.

🏀 Top men's conference tournament previews, picks

There's nothing quite like daytime basketball, and we're getting a ton of it this week with the nation's top conference tournaments. Our experts have made their predictions, and we have full schedules and live blogs for the ...

ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC

Yes, the Mountain West is getting the big boy treatment, and for good reason. It has six NCAA Tournament teams per Jerry Palm's Bracketology, and it's probably the most wide-open of any conference. You can make a good argument for any of the top seven seeds winning.

Regardless, it's going to be an awesome week full of madness. I can't wait.

📺 What we're watching Tuesday

🏀 Horizon League final: Green Bay vs. Cleveland State (W), noon on ESPNU
⚽ Arsenal vs. Porto, 4 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ FC Barcelona vs. Napoli, 4 p.m. on Paramount+
🏀 WCC final: Portland vs. Gonzaga (W), 4 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 Summit League final: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State (W), 4:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 CAA final: Stony Brook vs. Charleston (M), 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 76ers at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 WCC final: Saint Mary's vs. Gonzaga (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Big 12 final: Iowa State vs. Texas (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Summit League final: Denver vs. South Dakota State (M), 9:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Timberwolves at Clippers, 10 p.m. on TNT