Vikings fans who would like to forget the 1998 NFC Championship might have another reason to think about it.
The team that beat the Vikings on this day in January 1999 could be poised to steal quarterback Kirk Cousins.
We can't go into the details at the moment. But we get very credible hints that Cousins is seriously considering moving his family to Atlanta. Which of course would mean he would sign with the Falcons.
The Falcons have always been the top alternative to the Vikings for Cousins, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next Wednesday. And for a good reason. His wife, Julie, grew up in nearby Alpharetta, Georgia. Her parents still live there.
Apparently the Vikings have decided they want to keep Cousins, but only at a cost. They seem to think he won't get a better deal elsewhere. When he does, they seem content to let him go.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told PFT Live on Tuesday (video attached) that he desperately wants Cousins back. And we believe him. Do others in the organization, from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to owners Mark and Zygi Wilf, feel the same way?
The counter would probably be that Cousins is 35 years old and recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Additionally, in six years with the Vikings, the team only made the playoffs twice. (If not for his injury, they probably would have made it in 2023.)
The appeal for Cousins, beyond the contract, would be a plethora of players with excellent skill sets — and the fact that the NFC South is currently weaker than the NFC North.
The Vikings still have exclusive negotiating rights with Cousins for six days. If they want to keep him, they could make him an offer he won't refuse.
Of course, it might be too late for that. If the Falcons had given Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, enough indications last week about what they were willing to do, Cousins might have already decided to leave. And he might not be interested now in the Vikings doing what they could have done before the Falcons caught his attention.
The Falcons had previously been linked to a trade with the Bears for quarterback Justin Fields. Ultimately, this may have just been misdirection designed to potentially give them a chance to snag Cousins while the Vikings assumed no one else would make him a better offer than what the Vikings made .