Kіrk Couѕіnѕ Expected to Strong-Arm Fаlconѕ, Wіn Offѕeаѕon Bаttle

Kirk Cousins could make things easy on the Atlanta Falcons in the coming days if he wanted to, but the incentive for him to do so simply isn't there. 

Atlanta made a crushing financial decision to sign Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract that included $100 million guaranteed just months before they surprised the whole of the NFL by drafting QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick in 2024. 

Cousins and the Falcons got off to a good start last season, but poor play and injury issues revealed after the fact slowed the quarterback down along with Atlanta's offense. Eventually the Falcons benched Cousins in favor of Penix, but it was too late to make the playoffs.

Now the organization faces a difficult decision on whether to keep Cousins on the roster as by far the most expensive backup quarterback in the NFL, or cut him ahead of a $10 million bonus due on March 17. 

The team's current position is that it is comfortable keeping Cousins on the roster at a total cost of $37.5 million, though that could be posturing in an attempt to convince a QB-needy team (of which there are many this offseason) to trade for the four-time Pro Bowler ahead of his age-37 campaign. 

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated laid out the situation for both the Falcons and Cousins on Monday, Feb. 24. 

"In simple terms, you’d be looking at either footing a bill at a touch over $26 million and turning the page to Michael Penix Jr., or hanging a held-hostage quarterback over the 2024 first-round pick at a cost of $37.5 million (minus what a team would give him in 2026)," Breer wrote. "Cousins, of course, can see the math there the same as the team can, so all he really has to do is wait for the Falcons to cut him loose. And that’s what I expect him to do, because if he’s cut, he’s more attractive to other teams than he would be as a trade target -- both because they wouldn’t have to give up anything to get him, and because he’d likely come for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million."