The Vikings and Falcons combined to make three questionable quarterback decisions last spring. Strangely, the only one who now looks foolish is the lead actor in this drama.

The Vikings allowed Kirk Cousins to leave for Atlanta in free agency, leaving them with no viable starters on their roster and unsure whether they could acquire a desired quarterback of the future with the 11th pick in the draft.

Their ability to wring efficiency out of Sam Darnold and land J.J. McCarthy in the draft by moving up to the 10th pick has led to a remarkable season and a strong plan for the future, but at the time losing Cousins felt like a high-risk, if financially sound, decision.

The Falcons signed a quarterback coming off an Achilles injury who would turn 36 before he played a regular-season game on his new, four-year, $180 million contract — a quarterback who had won one playoff game in his career.

The Falcons then used the eighth pick in the draft on quarterback Michael Penix Jr., meaning that either Penix was going to wait a few years to play or the Falcons would be paying Cousins a massive amount of money to not play.

What we now know is that the Vikings were lucky Cousins didn't offer to stay with them for a reasonable salary … that the Falcons are vastly overpaying an old quarterback who is playing at a career-worst level … and that the Falcons were right to take Penix, one of my favorite quarterback prospects in recent years.

Vikings fans could even witness the Falcons moving from Cousins to Penix sometime Sunday, if Cousins plays against the Vikings the way he did last week against the Chargers, when he threw four interceptions.

This scenario could not have played out better for the Vikings had they scripted it themselves.

If there is an overarching lesson in this drama, it is this:

The Packers were right.

I was one of many who believed the Packers erred in taking Jordan Love with a first-round draft pick when they had Aaron Rodgers as their starter and looked like they were a player or two away from winning a Super Bowl.

Instead, they chose Love, reprising their decision to select Rodgers when Brett Favre was still in his prime, and it's clear now they made the right decision — just as the Falcons did this spring.

Talk of "legacies" is overdone by talk radio and televised debate shows, but it's an interesting term when applied to Cousins' career.

If he even has a legacy, what will it be?

Financial genius? He's going to wind up making at least $400 million in the NFL and now looks like he will never earn a second playoff victory.

Quality passer? Until the last month, that would have been the easiest label to apply, and it hints at his lack of athletic ability and mixed results in big games.

Robot quarterback? This seems right. Cousins can play the position at a high level, but his winningest season came under Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who seemed to know how to program him.

I've been trying to figure out how to categorize and analyze Cousins for six years now, and the best I can come up with is this:

He's like my iPad.

He's efficient, and sometimes you forget just how many things he can do well.

If you've never had an iPad before, you'd be blown away by the capabilities of the machine.

And once your iPad begins to glitch, you replace it with a newer model and never think about the old one. Because it's just an old iPad.

I don't know if I've ever felt less about the return of such a prominent Minnesota professional athlete.

Kevin Garnett's return was epic and charged with emotion.

A.J. Pierzynski and Chuck Knoblauch elicited anger.

Randy Moss was treated like a hero.

Cousins is bound to inspire a mixture of emotions Sunday. I just don't think any of the emotions will be vivid.

He was a pretty good, overpaid quarterback who is now a faltering, overpaid quarterback.

The proper greeting is probably a golf clap, or a slight nod.