The Falcons have decided to keep Cousins on their roster ahead of Saturday's 4 pm ET deadline for his $10 million guarantee to kick in, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Cousins lost his starting job to Michael Penix late last season and has been the subject of trade speculation in recent months. However, the Falcons appear determined to keep him around as a backup and mentor to Penix for at least one more season. It's still possible that a trade partner will emerge to persuade Atlanta to part ways with the veteran quarterback, but Cousins has a no-trade clause in his contract and may waive it only if put in the position to be a starter elsewhere.
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ACTIVELatest Kirk Cousins news
Other Falcons Players
Team
Atlanta Falcons
Birthdate
8/19/1988 (36)
Status
Active
HT/WT
6'3", 205 lbs
Draft Info
2012: Rd 4; Pk (WAS)
Birthplace
Barrington, IL, USA
Position
QB
College
Michigan State
Experience
13 seasons
Career History
Atlanta Falcons
2024-Present
(1 season)
Minnesota Vikings
2018-2024
(6 seasons)
Washington Commanders
2012-2018
(6 seasons)
The Falcons have decided to keep Cousins on their roster ahead of Saturday's 4 pm ET deadline for his $10 million guarantee to kick in, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Cousins lost his starting job to Michael Penix late last season and has been the subject of trade speculation in recent months. However, the Falcons appear determined to keep him around as a backup and mentor to Penix for at least one more season. It's still possible that a trade partner will emerge to persuade Atlanta to part ways with the veteran quarterback, but Cousins has a no-trade clause in his contract and may waive it only if put in the position to be a starter elsewhere.
Cousins may wait until after the NFL Draft to request a trade and/or waive his no-trade clause, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. The idea would be to see which teams use an early pick on a quarterback before finding a new home for 2025. Cousins, of course, signed a four-year contract with the Falcons last offseason, only to see them take Michael Penix with the eighth overall pick. Cousins mostly struggled in his first year back from an Achilles' tear, and Penix eventually took over the starting job for the final three weeks. It may help Cousins to be another year removed from his injury, but he'll also be in his age-37 season, likely nearing the end of the line. It's unclear if he'd generate serious trade interest as a potential starter.
Cousins said Tuesday that the right shoulder injury he sustained in Week 10 impacted the quality of his play down the stretch, and contributed to his benching in favor of rookie Michael Penix in Week 16, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports. Cousins' season looked remarkably different prior to Week 10, as he boasted a 17:7 TD:INT entering the road matchup against New Orleans, compared to a 1:9 TD:INT in his final five appearances. He was listed on the injury report immediately after the contest against the Saints, but was then limited for only one practice before being listed as healthy to conclude the campaign. Coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot also affirmed multiple times that the veteran QB's health wasn't a factor in the decision to bench him for Penix. Still, Cousins' focus to begin the offseason is related to getting healthy. "If we can do that," he said, "[I] feel like I've got a new life ahead of me in pro football." Fontenot has stated that Cousins will work as the backup to Penix during the 2025 season, but if the veteran's struggles were indeed mostly injury-related and he's able to quickly get right, it could make it easier for Atlanta to facilitate a trade.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said Thursday that Cousins will head into the 2025 season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Penix, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. "Kirk is a great man and he's been great support for Mike, a great teammate, great support for everybody in the building, so we're very confident moving forward with him as the backup," Fontenot said. Shortly after the Falcons benched Cousins in favor of Penix in Week 16, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the expectation in league circles was that Atlanta would cut Cousins before March 17, when the 36-year-old quarterback is due a $10 million roster bonus. Fontenot pushed back on that report during his press conference Thursday, noting that Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal last March with the expectation that they would "get high-level quarterback play for two seasons." That didn't come to fruition, as Cousins completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns while committing 18 turnovers (16 interceptions, two lost fumbles) in 14 starts before Atlanta turned the offense over to the rookie Penix. While Fontenot acknowledged that Cousins didn't perform as well as anticipated, the GM reiterated that the Falcons are comfortable with him as a backup heading into the upcoming season, though that won't preclude the organization from trading him if the right deal emerges. Atlanta would almost certainly have to absorb some of the $27.5 million on Cousins' base salary for 2025 to facilitate any trade.
Cousins is expected to be cut by the Falcons before his $10 million roster bonus is due March 17, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. Cousins has been demoted to the backup role behind rookie first-round pick Michael Penix ahead of Atlanta's Week 16 game against the Giants. The veteran quarterback lost his starting role after posting a 1:9 TD:INT in his last five starts. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons prior to the 2024 season, but Atlanta appears ready to move forward with Penix while eating the remainder of Cousins' $100 million guarantee.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday that Cousins will serve as the team's No. 2 quarterback behind rookie Michael Penix in Sunday's game against the Giants, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. On Tuesday, Morris announced that Penix would take over as Atlanta's starter, but it wasn't immediately known if Cousins would serve as his direct backup, or if the Falcons would elevate Nathan Peterman from the practice squad to handle those duties. Rather than making Cousins a healthy inactive, Atlanta will continue to have the veteran signal-caller suit up on game days, even though the Falcons are now turning the offense over to the rookie first-round pick. Cousins' long-term future in Atlanta is another matter, as the 36-year-old is being benched just 14 games into the four-year, $180 million contract he inked with the Falcons this offseason. Through those 14 appearances, Cousins has completed 303 of 453 pass attempts (67 percent) for 3,508 yards, 16 touchdowns and a league-high 16 interceptions. Nine of those interceptions came over Cousins' most recent five starts, during which he threw for just one touchdown.
Atlanta announced Tuesday that Michael Penix will be the team's starting quarterback moving forward, displacing Cousins in the role. Cousins struggled over the Falcons' past five games, posting a 1:9 TD:INT while the team went 1-4. Though the squad snapped a four-game losing streak Monday against the Raiders, Cousins didn't do well, completing 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Head coach Raheem Morris was non-committal about the veteran quarterback continuing to start under center for the squad earlier Tuesday, and the Falcons later made the announcement that Penix will be taking over as the team's starting signal-caller. Per Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site, Morris said in a prepared statement, "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants." It's unclear what Cousins' future in Atlanta will be after signing a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason.
Head coach Raheem Morris was non-committal Tuesday when asked if Cousins will remain the Falcons' starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Giants, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports. "We just got back [from Las Vegas]. We still have to go through that process," Morris said. "All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn't play well enough at the quarterback position." Though the Falcons snapped their four-game losing streak Monday with a 15-9 win over the Raiders, Cousins' play didn't inspire much confidence in the prospects of the Atlanta offense moving forward. After Cousins had turned in a disastrous 0:8 TD:INT during the previous four games, the Falcons leaned heavily on the ground attack in Week 16, attempting 37 runs on the night. Cousins was unable to do much with his 20 dropbacks, taking three sacks and completing 11 of 17 pass attempts for 112 yards, one touchdown and NFL-leading 16th interception of the season. Though a soft home matchup against the 2-12 Giants awaits in Week 16, the 7-7 Falcons may view the game as a good opportunity to see if rookie first-round pick Michael Penix can provide an upgrade over the struggling Cousins as Atlanta looks to stay in the thick of the NFC playoff race. Expect Morris to provide an update on the Falcons' plans at quarterback Wednesday, when the team resumes practicing.
Cousins completed 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards with a touchdown and an interception and netted no gain on three rush attempts in the Falcons' 15-9 win over the Raiders on Monday night. He also committed a fumble but recovered. Cousins' numbers were hardly of the redemptive variety after a four-game stretch that may have had his starting job in danger, but the veteran signal-caller at least snapped his four-game touchdown drought with a 30-yard first-quarter scoring strike to Drake London. Cousins ultimately wasn't tasked with doing much more against an inept Raiders offense helmed by Desmond Ridder, leading to his lowest passing yardage total of the campaign. Cousins may enjoy a similar game script in a Week 16 home matchup against the lowly Giants, who also should pose very little threat.