Falcons' latest Kirk Cousins update is a blatant play for more leverage

Well, this is one way to draw up interest in an otherwise depreciated asset. The Atlanta Falcons have their quarterback of the future in Michael Penix Jr., but still have Kirk Cousins under contract. Cousins went 7-7 in 14 starts for the Dirty Birds this past season. While he played fantastically in October, especially against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he turned into a pumpkin after Halloween for the team.

With Atlanta making the quarterback switch after the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders, all signs pointed to the Falcons simply releasing Cousins this offseason. This is because he is due a $10 million roster bonus once the new league year starts in March. Cousins may be on the wrong side of 35, but he did show at times this past season what made him a very special player in this league.

According to Cameron Wolfe of The NFL Network, the Falcons plan to go forward with Penix as their starting quarterback, but are not yet ready to cut bait with Cousins. Doing so would trigger a massive dead-cap hit for the playoff-contending Falcons. They seem to be comfortable with him staying on as their backup quarterback. This may lead to an ugly offseason because Cousins is no longer a starter.

With how weak of a quarterback draft class it is, Atlanta is garnering leverage to get anything for him.

This may blow up in Atlanta's face, but keep in mind he will be another season removed from his injury.

Atlanta Falcons are hoping to get something, anything for Kirk Cousins

It seems a bit odd for the Falcons to do this, but hear me out. What do they have to lose? This is a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2017, or even had a winning season since then. The offense really started to gel under Zac Robinson as the season progressed. It was Jimmy Lake's defense and Raheem Morris' inability to use timeouts correctly that led to Atlanta finishing at 8-9...

So other than $10 million and a roster spot, Atlanta is not losing a ton by keeping Cousins on their team. Again, they have team control of Cousins for the next three years if they want. They also have Penix under team control for that amount of time as well, not including the fifth-year option he is slated to pick up in two offseasons. It actually serves Atlanta not to cut Cousins as we all expected.

The only problem with that in my opinion is the locker room could become toxic. Cousins is a likable guy, but that could change if Penix struggles in year two out of Washington. Overall, I think Atlanta's lack of options at backup quarterback are probably tipping the scales in them potentially trying to keep both Penix and Cousins around. This is Terry Fontenot's mess, so he must lie in it, I would think...

Atlanta has found its quarterback of the future in Penix, but it came at the price of Cousins' present.