The Atlanta Falcons have passed two significant dates for quarterback Kirk Cousins and appear poised to wait for a complicated third.
Atlanta kept Cousins on its roster past the start of the new league year March 12 and through the 2025 NFL draft, which ran April 24-26. According to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, there "wasn't much action" on Cousins during draft weekend. Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot declined to answer post-draft whether Atlanta discussed Cousins with other teams.
Now, the next period circled on the Falcons' proverbial calendar is the start of training camp in late July -- which leaves all of organized team activities and mandatory minicamp ahead of Cousins this offseason.
Perhaps a bigger, broader issue for the 36-year-old? Cousins, who this spring expressed his desire to play for a team he can start for in 2025, doesn't have an expansive group of options. He's "without a logical destination," according to Breer.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting for Aaron Rodgers," Breer wrote. "The Minnesota Vikings were only going to consider a reunion at this point if the Falcons ate a big chunk of his salary—and, absent that, Minnesota traded for a much cheaper alternative in Sam Howell on the draft’s third day.
"The Cleveland Browns put a fourth quarterback on their roster in the third round and a fifth in the fifth round."
So, the options for Cousins? If Rodgers leaves the Steelers at the altar, then Pittsburgh becomes a home-run destination. The Steelers' quarterback room currently consists of veteran Mason Rudolph, sixth-round rookie Will Howard and backup Skylar Thompson.
Otherwise, Cousins will be left waiting for attrition. If any team loses its starting quarterback to injury and doesn't feel comfortable with its backup, Cousins presents a viable veteran option capable of keeping a team afloat.
But that's a heavily dependent "if," and it also requires Cousins to sign off, as well -- which Breer doesn't think is an automatic guarantee.
"Even if there’s an injury, it’d have to happen before the trade deadline," Breer wrote. "And there’s a chance that Cousins wouldn’t want to uproot his family—and could thus block a trade if he doesn’t like the destination."
The Falcons have said they're comfortable keeping Cousins as the backup to Michael Penix Jr., who started the final three games in 2024 and is the franchise's choice under center moving forward.
So, what happens next? In a situation where few, if any, seem to have a pulse, time will tell all.
