What are the Atlanta Falcons going to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins?
It’s the conundrum the Falcons find themselves in this offseason after the team named Michael Penix Jr. their starting quarterback last December, just 14 games into Cousins’s four-year, $180 million contract.
The Falcons are moving forward with Penix as their starter. Meanwhile, Cousins has expressed his desire for a starting opportunity.
Will the Falcons trade, release or keep Cousins as the most expensive backup quarterback in football?
Falcons brass seem to want a resolution that’s best for both parties.
‘You want to see him go on to be the best version of himself,’ Falcons coach Raheem Morris told reporters at the NFL’s annual owners meeting, per the team’s official website. ‘This is not a thing where we’re holding you back. If the opportunity presents itself as something that’s good for both of us – it’s good for the Falcons and for Kirk Cousins – we’d certainly like to see that happen.’
Cousins has a no-trade clause but would presumably waive the no-trade clause for the right situation. However, trading Cousins will be difficult. The 36-year-old quarterback will make $27.5 million in 2025, and he has a $40 million cap hit. At this time, no trade is imminent as there haven’t been any substantial trade talks involving Cousins, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
If the Falcons cut Cousins, they would carry $40 million in dead money. Keeping him as a backup could create an unnecessary distraction while Penix goes through his sophomore campaign.
That’s the dilemma the Falcons find themselves in.
‘Kirk understands his situation. He understands our own situation,’ Falcons owner Arthur Blank said to reporters at the NFL annual owners meeting, via the team’s official website. ‘He understands we’ve committed a lot of funds to him. The aspirations from his standpoint and from our standpoint was that he was going to play for a couple years, if not longer. Things didn’t develop that way.’
Things “didn’t develop” the way neither the Falcons nor Cousins had planned. Now the two parties are stuck in a complicated relationship. And it seems to have an inevitable breakup which results in Cousins playing elsewhere. It’s just a matter of how he gets to his next destination.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.