Kirk Daniel Cousins is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III. Cousins occasionally appeared in games during his first three seasons before replacing Griffin following an injury in 2015, where he remained the team's starter until 2017. With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl.