The Falcons have a lot to do this offseason, which began with the hiring of Jeff Ulbrich to be the team’s next defensive coordinator. However, hiring Ulbrich was only the start as a decision on Kirk Cousins looms.
The veteran completed 66.9% of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He led the NFL in interceptions at the time of his benching. There was a stretch of four games in which the Falcons quarterback threw eight interceptions and no touchdowns, leading to four straight losses.
His play fell off a cliff and has left the Falcons in a tight spot, but I’m of the opinion they should hold Kirk Cousins’ feet to the fire. The Falcons organization is filled with nice guys from top to bottom. It’s a warm and welcoming place to work, I’m sure. But it’s time for a change of pace.
Here’s how the conversation with Kirk Cousins should go:
“Kirk, we appreciate everything you’ve done for us here, but we are moving forward with Michael Penix Jr., and here’s where we stand with you. You have been a consummate professional as Penix’s backup, and you can continue to do so in 2025, or you can try to make the most of your twilight years and work with us on finding a suitable trade partner.”
It’s an ultimatum. It’s that simple. Either Cousins can be the highest-paid backup quarterback, or he can waive his no-trade clause to have potentially one last chance to start in the NFL.
If the Falcons released Cousins before the start of the 2025 league year (March 12th), they would take on $65 million in dead money. If Atlanta does it with a post-June 1 designation, the dead money will spread over the 2025 and 2026 seasons — $40 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026.
If the club traded him, the team would be on the hook for the $37.5 million, while his fully guaranteed $27.5 million base salary would have to be inherited by his new team. Of course, the team acquiring Cousins could force the Falcons to eat some of that $27.5 million in the trade.
The Falcons anticipated allocating this money to the quarterback position last offseason when they initially signed Cousins and drafted Penix. The ideal scenario was for Cousins to play at a high level for two seasons. But while the configuration is different, the cap allocation is the same.
It’s a little risk for a potentially much greater reward. Kirk Cousins has a $10 million roster bonus that becomes fully guaranteed on March 17th. By picking it up, the Falcons would be banking on being able to convince the veteran to waive his no-trade clause in order to start elsewhere.
