The Atlanta Falcons are hoping that they found their quarterback of the future, but it comes at a cost. In an offseason that’s seen the team take every opportunity to hand the keys to the franchise to second year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Kirk Cousins (and his massive contract) is left lurking in the corner.
Kirk Cousins’ contract is haunting the Atlanta Falcons. But not like a cool ghost that adds value to a tourist destination, more like an annoying ghost that needs to be removed before the company can go forward with building their resort.
His four year, $180 million contract is one of the worst in the league. After fulfilling just one quarter of his contract, the team and the player are ready to amicably part ways. The only problem is that, apparently, nobody else wants him.
Cousins made it clear immediately that his intention was to go to a new team and secure a starting role. With the news breaking that Aaron Rodgers would become the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta’s options are dwindling.
“At this point, there’s not a clear place for Kirk Cousins to go,” said Tom Pelissero on the Rich Eisen Show. “The Falcons have made it abundantly clear that they are not releasing him. If they were going to do that, they would have done that back in March. It didn’t happen.”
The vibe around the league seems to be that the ball is completely out of the Falcons’ court.
Atlanta Waiting On An Injury
The working theory seems to be that the Falcons best chance to offload Cousins’ is going to come when a team loses their signal caller. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero went on to say that they will be waiting by the phone for another teams quarterback to get banged up.
“The moment that somebody hits their thumb on a helmet. The moment that somebody pulls up lame with a hamstring, the moment that anything happens to any quarterback, the first question is going to be: is this the team that trades for Kirk Cousins,” Pelissero concluded.
Another NFL insider shared this same sentiment on NFL Network.
“Every time a quarterback gets hurt, the Falcons are going to be like, ‘Hello, look at the guy we got,’” NFL insider Ian Rapoport said. “He suggested that Atlanta could even land a premium draft pick by trading Cousins during the season if a team becomes desperate enough.”
Best Vs Worst Case Scenario
Atlanta has maintained since the beginning that they are more than willing to keep Kirk on roster. He would join Deshaun Watson as the leagues most expensive back up quarterbacks, but would certainly apply some sort of comfort to a Falcons team with two capable starters.
“That stinks for the four-time Pro Bowler, and the Falcons may not be too thrilled about running out of trade options, either,” Bleacher Report’s Khristopher Knox wrote. “While Atlanta has said it is “comfortable” keeping Cousins around as its backup, general manager Terry Fontenot can’t be eager to hand out a $27.5 million salary to his QB2.”
CBS Sports’ Joel Corry spelled out the easiest way out for the Dirty Birds.
“The Falcons would love for him to retire,” Corry said. “…If he retires, they are entitled to get back the pro-rated amount of the signing bonus for 2025, 26 and 27. That’s $37.5 million.”
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