The Atlanta Falcons finally gave in to the inevitable on Tuesday night, reportedly benching Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. This certainly isn't the outcome the team envisioned when it signed the veteran to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency this past spring, but Cousins' play left them with no choice: Coming off an Achilles injury, the 36-year-old simply didn't have the athleticism or the arm strength to survive as a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL, and Atlanta had to make a move if it wanted any chance of tracking down the Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFC South.
Now we get to see what Penix Jr. can do, and just how smart the Falcons were when they opted to take the former Washington star No. 8 overall in the 2024 draft. Until the rookie makes his first NFL start against the New York Giants this weekend, though, the immediate question becomes: What exactly should the Falcons do with Cousins?
That hefty contract makes cutting him unpalatable; releasing him next offseason with a post-June 1 designation would still incur a $40 million dead cap hit in 2025 and a $25 million dead cap hit in 2026. And finding a trade for a 36-year-old who just got benched in the middle of a playoff chase figures to be pretty difficult. But just because no team is likely to want to take on Cousins on his current deal doesn't mean that they can't threaten to, and one team in particular figures to be very glad if Atlanta is looking to part ways with its veteran QB next spring.
Falcons benching Kirk Cousins could give the 49ers some Brock Purdy leverage
Again: Barring a spectacular physical recovery over the next few months, Cousins looks thoroughly cooked, and it's unlikely that any team in the NFL would be willing to give up anything of value to take the remainder of that contract onto its books. In a vacuum, the San Francisco 49ers would take Brock Purdy at quarterback seven days a week and twice on Sundays.
But, of course, these sorts of decisions don't happen in a vacuum. Purdy, long arguably the best bargain in the NFL on his seventh-round rookie deal, will be eligible for a contract extension this coming offseason, and rumor has it that he's looking to get paid with a capital-P. Given the Niners' current cap crunch, handing Purdy $50-60 million a year would be an awfully tough pill to swallow, no matter how impressive his numbers have been since taking over as Kyle Shanahan's starter.
Just a couple of days ago, San Francisco didn't seem to have much of a choice in the matter. Sure, the team could roll the dice on a QB in the draft again, trusting Shanahan to turn another unheralded rookie into a Pro Bowler. But with stars like George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel only getting older and more injury-prone, this offense doesn't feel nearly as foolproof as it once did — which, combined with a lack of options in free agency, gave Purdy significant leverage as he looks for a massive new deal.
Now, though, an alternative option has emerged. Sure, Cousins isn't nearly the player that Purdy is at this point in his career. But we've seen Shanahan do more with less in the past, and these two had success together in the past when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington. The Niners can point to Cousins as a viable replacement and tell Purdy that if he doesn't give them at least some hometown discount, they'll simply look elsewhere. Whether San Francisco is actually willing to follow through on that, given how poorly Cousins has played this year, is another question. But don't be shocked if GM John Lynch at least tries to play hardball now that he's got some ammunition.