Are you watching closely? While the Atlanta Falcons' offseason has been defined by the emergence of Michael Penix Jr. and the decline of Kirk Cousins, it takes two to tango when putting forth a respectable trade offer. Cousins wants out of town for one last opportunity to be an NFL starter. I am not sure he will get it. We all saw how poorly he played down the stretch last season for the Falcons.
The other tricky part of the equation is trying to figure out what team will be eating the bulk of Cousins' salary. Atlanta is hoping Cousins' new team will be eating most of it, but we all know that the Falcons are largely going to have to swallow this bitter pill on their own accord. The other caveat is Cousins has a no-trade clause, meaning he would have to waive it in order to pick his new NFL team.
Do the Falcons have a trade partner lined up? I think they might... This is because the Falcons just signed former North Dakota State star and Los Angeles Chargers backup Easton Stick late on Monday afternoon. He could be a potential backup quarterback solution for the Falcons, as they go full-steam ahead with Penix. This signing may indicate Cousins could be traded by the end of April.
What else needs to happen for Cousins to be traded by the Falcons? Let me explain all of that now.
Why Atlanta Falcons could trade Kirk Cousins around the 2025 NFL Draft
The biggest thing the Falcons need to do going forward is to see if Penix can be the franchise quarterback everyone believes that he can be. He flashed in his three starts for the Dirty Birds last year. Penix may have only gone 1-2 as the starter, but it was largely Jimmy Lake's porous defense letting him down. Washington Husky on Washington Husky crime is why Lake no longer works there.
Even though there is a non-zero chance Cousins could become a willing backup and be a terrific teammate in this situation, I still sincerely doubt that will manifest. He may be the most overqualified backup in the league, but there was a time when former NFL stars like Kurt Warner and Mark Brunell had to ride pine. The NFL is short for Not For Long. This is why the Falcons need to move on from him.
By getting Cousins out of the building, it will go a long way toward alleviating a rather tense situation. Everybody in Flowery Branch needs to be pulling in the same direction for once. No noise, no confusion, no dissenters, none of the same old sorry crapola that has held this team back for the better part of a decade now. Rectifying this is all about being patient and acting swiftly when it is time.
That time comes after the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Cousins needs to see where all the starting-level quarterbacks end up. We know Cam Ward is going to the Tennessee Titans at No. 1. It is all about the other four quarterbacks of note in Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, and to some extent, Quinn Ewers. Whoever drafts those four players will be removed from the Cousins list.
Once we have some clarity on where those four prospects of note land, Cousins can then have enough confidence of waiving his no-trade clause to go to another quarterback-desperate team. Although there are reasons to believe other quarterback prospects such as Dillon Gabriel, Will Howard, Kyle McCord and even Tyler Shough could be something, Cousins is better than all them.
Overall, we are looking at the very real possibility that Cousins could be traded by the end of the month, right in time for Cinco de Mayo. It's gonna be May one way or another, so it will be interesting to see how in sync the Falcons' brass is in moving on from Cousins. All I've ever wanted, all I've ever needed is to get some relief at quarterback. So tell me what to do now, Kirk. I don't want you back!
The best way the Falcons could have stuck it to Cousins is by signing his replacement in Stick.