With Cousins, Falcons are relevant again

When the 2023 NFL schedule was released last May, the Falcons were one of four teams without a nationally televised game. The Cardinals, Colts and Texans also were shut out.

Cousins’ signing has made the Falcons, who have six consecutive losing seasons, relevant again on the national landscape.

Cousins has been the most-talked-about player who has changed teams during free agency. As of Wednesday, there were 150,000 X (formerly known as Twitter) posts about him over the previous three days, which ranked Cousins No. 1 as the most-talked-about signing or trade acquisition, according to The Sports Geek.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, who agreed to a deal with the Steelers, was second with 109,000.

Linebacker Patrick Queen (92,000), running back Derrick Henry (91,000) and running back Aaron Jones (86,000) rounded out the top five most-tweeted about players.

When the 2024 schedule comes out, there will be a few options for the Falcons to have nationally televised games.

They are set to play at the Vikings, and Cousins’ return to Minnesota will create a major buzz.

The Falcons also play at Washington and against their former coach Dan Quinn (2015-20). In addition, the Falcons will host Wilson and the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, former Falcons coach Arthur Smith (2021-23).

Here are the Falcons’ opponents for 2024: The home games: Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Carolina, Dallas, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City, Seattle and Pittsburgh.

The road games: Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington, Las Vegas, Denver and Minnesota.