For the first time in 11 years, veteran NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins will not be donning the No. 8.

On Monday, the Atlanta Falcons announced on X/Twitter that their new starting quarterback will wear the No. 18 instead of his previous digit, No. 8. That number, of course, is worn by fourth-year tight end Kyle Pitts.

Cousins entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (102nd overall) by Washington in 2012. He wore No. 12 (worn by plenty of all-time great QBs like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw) for his rookie and sophomore years before switching to the No. 8.

The Michigan State product switched to No. 8 in 2014 and wore that numbers for the next 10 seasons. But after a decade with the single digit, Cousins is wearing No. 18 for the first time as a professional.

If Kirk Cousins really wanted to retain No. 18, he could have worked something out with Pitts. For instance, Tampa Bay Buccaneers star wideout Chris Godwin was happy to give up his No. 12 to Tom Brady following the latter’s arrival in 2020. Godwin then switched to No. 14, which he continues to wear even in the post-TB12 era.

Kirk Cousins signed a four-year deal with the Falcons worth $180 million following his six-year run with the Minnesota Vikings, with $100 million of it coming in guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

It’s rare to see a big-named quarterback change jersey numbers once, let alone twice. But Kirk Cousins has already accomplished the latter twice. Let’s see if the number change leads to some serendipity for the four-time Pro Bowler.

Kirk Cousins: The Final Piece For The Falcons?

The Falcons finished 7-10 in 2022 and 2023 due largely to mediocre quarterback play from Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. The team hasn’t had a steady option at QB since 2021 with Matt Ryan, though he was 36 years of age and well past his prime at that point.

Kirk Cousins joins an Atlanta team with a quality defense, an elite offensive line and of course a great set of playmakers in Pitts, Bijan Robinson and Drake London. If Atlanta could win seven games with Heinicke and Ridder last year, there’s no telling how much they’ll improve if Kirk Cousins can stay healthy with his new team.