The Atlanta Falcons went all-in at quarterback this offseason, signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal worth $180 million, even though the former Vikings’ QB was coming off a torn Achilles.
Cousins had a few decent games this season, but never looked confident and healthy — and with the playoffs on the line — the Falcons benched Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr., who they selected with the No. 8 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.
On Saturday, reports surfaced the Falcons will not be able to find any trade partners for Cousins this coming offseason, and that they will instead be forced to release him.
Cousins has base salaries of $27.5 million, $35 million and $35 million on the books for 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively. He is also owed a $10 million roster bonus for 2026 that becomes guaranteed on March 17, 2025, and the Falcons are expected to part ways with him before that date. But other than that, the Atlanta Falcons have to pay Cousins all the money he is due, making it one of the worst contracts in recent history, similar to the Russell Wilson situation with the Broncos.
Considering it was the Achilles injury that held Cousins back this season, plenty of NFL fans are pointing out Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank’s comments about the decision to not pursue Ravens QB and last year’s MVP, Lamar Jackson.
After it was widely publicized the Atlanta Falcons were aggressively pursuing Deshaun Watson, Blank publicly listed Jackson’s playing style and very brief injury history as the reason to not pursue the Baltimore Ravens superstar.
Here’s what Blank said about the decision not to pursue Jackson when he was a free agent during the 2023 offseason:
“There’s no doubt Lamar Jackson is one of the best QBs in the game. Looking at it objectively I’d say there’s some concern over how long can he play his style of game. Hopefully a long time ..., but he’s missed 5, 6 games each of the last two years. Each game counts a lot in our business.”
Jackson is having another MVP-caliber year for the Ravens, while the Falcons threw away millions on Cousins and are banking on Penix being the team’s franchise QB.
