The Atlanta Falcons really like to roll the dice and hedge their bets, its seems. Especially when it comes to the fate of their quarterbacks.
The team had many observers scratching their heads at last year's NFL Draft when it selected Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall just weeks after signing veteran signal caller Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal. Well, we're all scratching our heads yet again not even a year later, as the Falcons will reportedly keep Cousins on their roster past Saturday's 4 p.m. ET deadline which will trigger a $10 million bonus owed to him in 2026 (h/t ESPN's Adam Schefter).
The 36-year-old was benched with just three games remaining in the 2024 season in favor of the rookie Penix. He had led Atlanta to a 7-7 record entering Week 15, throwing for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns in total with the team still alive in the playoff race. His 16 interceptions, however, were the one blemish that could not be ignored.
With all signs pointing toward Cousins being relegated to Penix's backup moving forward, Atlanta seemed all but certain to cut a very expensive asset before its salary cap situation got any worse (currently more than $7 million over, according to Spotrac).
Instead, general manager Terry Fontenot seems to believe he can still flip Cousins in a trade to a QB-desperate team. Well, news flash, Terry: You're not going to.
Falcons take expensive gamble on Kirk Cousin's future in QB experiment
Teams with major starting QB vacancies like the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns have multiple avenues they're currently exploring before they even think about considering a risky, expensive option like Cousins (Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, drafting a rookie, etc.). Even then, they can just wait out Atlanta's bluff until he's eventually released before negotiating a more team-friendly deal in free agency, secure in the knowledge that the Falcons won't be willing to carry Cousins' bloated salary on their books into the season.
On top of that, Cousins has a no-trade clause that would need to be cleared if an attractive trade somehow walked through the door.
So, for the time being, it appears as if Atlanta's only option is to keep Cousins on the bench while he counts his money. Fontenot said he was "comfortable" with that in his post-season news conference in January, but we'll see how much longer that remains the case.