One of the most significant moves of free agency back in March was made to try and stop the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons handed Kirk Cousins a $180 million contract, a signing explicitly made to stop the Bucs from winning another NFC South title.
Part of the plan worked, as Cousins carved Tampa Bay up in the two meetings the teams had this year, but that's also where everything peaked for Atlanta. Less than a full season into the massive contract, the Falcons are benching Cousins and turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr., a move that is unbelievably satisfying for Bucs fans.
It's not that Atlanta's plans to try and dethrone the Bucs failing isn't hilarious -- because it is -- but it's not the best part about all of this happening.
Baker Mayfield's deal with Bucs looks even better after Falcons bench Kirk Cousins
Baker Mayfield is having one of the best seasons of his career, and he's doing it after an offseason in which he was heavily rumored to be leaving Tampa Bay. Both Baker and Mike Evans were free agents last March, but Jason Licht ensured neither would actually hit the open market.
It was assumed they'd at least test the market, and there was a very real chance the Bucs lost them both if that happened. Evans has said as much more than a few times, and Baker was being tied to the Patriots and Vikings more and more the closer we got to the tampering period.
Atlanta was even on that list of teams who were expected to offer Baker a ton of money, which is why the Bucs re-signing him to a $100 million contract before free agency even arrived was a stunner. It's also a deal that has continued to age better and better, even more so now that his $180 million counterpart has flamed out.
It was a hilariously bad deal at the time in the eyes of Bucs fans, as the Falcons' transparently desperate attempt to catch Tampa Bay was chased by the team drafting a rookie quarterback with a top 10 pick a month later.
Since then the Falcons have flashed and flamed out while Baker is consistently playing at a high level. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league and his entire journey to the Bucs and to this point is being studied by front offices who want to copy the success Tampa Bay has found with Mayfield.
To be fair to the Falcons, overpaying a little bit for a mistake is better than setting the franchise back by missing on a young quarterback. Had the Falcons passed on Penix Jr., they'd be stuck with Cousins and his massive contract without an easy path to getting a franchise quaterback of the future.
Perhaps Penix won't be much better, but at least now Atlanta won't have to trade mulitple draft picks to move up to get someone, and they certainly don't have the money to go and grab another free agent. It's not the most optimal situation, but it's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
It's still not great, and it affords the Bucs a massive opportunity to remain on top in the NFC South. That's ultimately what this comes down to; the Falcons took a $180 million swing to try and de-throne Tampa Bay and whiffed. Now Atlanta is left holding the bag like a Scooby-Doo villain while the Bucs are on their way to holding yet another division title.
More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors