The Atlanta Falcons hold the No. 15-overall pick in this weekend’s NFL Draft. There has been much speculation about whether they would trade down to add more picks, or maybe they’d trade a player like Kirk Cousins or Kyle Pitts to get those additional selections.
There is a minor snag regarding trading Cousins, however. Cousins has a no-trade clause in his bloated contract. And, there have been rumors that Cousins will wait until after the draft to waive that clause, although others have speculated that he’ll simply wait until after the first round to ensure that he doesn’t get Michael Penix-ed again.
Then, Cousins threw the Falcons a bit of a curveball by showing up to voluntary workouts this week. That’s an issue because if he gets injured while working out at the team’s facility, the Falcons could be liable for money and/or cap space depending on the language of his deal. This happened back in 2006 when the Tennessee Titans were looking to trade Steve McNair and he was banned from working out at the team’s facility for just that reason. An arbitrator later ruled that the Titans had to let him work out, but the Titans weren’t thrilled about it. It ended up not being a big deal as he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens in June of that year without incident.
Fontenot not shocked Cousins showed up
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said Wednesday that he wasn’t entirely shocked that Cousins showed up for voluntary workouts.
But, he couldn’t have been overjoyed about the possibility that perhaps their biggest draft weekend trade chip could get hurt and damage draft plans and maybe more. Cousins is 36-years old and – as we all know – injuries are more likely to occur as players get older.
“I wouldn’t say a surprise,” Fontenot said. “This is a voluntary thing. Whether a player comes or doesn’t come we have a lot of good professionals who we know are going to take care of their bodies, including Kirk.”
Fontenot has also said previously that he’d be happy having Cousins stick around as a backup behind Michael Penix, Jr. But, it doesn’t seem like anyone would be happy with that. Cousins wants to play, and no team in the NFL wants a backup quarterback in the second year of a four-year $180 million deal.
Morris says Falcons are listening to offers
Head coach Raheem Morris stated the obvious recently, stating that the Falcons remain open to moving Cousins. But, he also said earlier this month at the NFL meetings in Palm Beach, FL that the team is willing to keep Cousins in backup role.
Morris said they “still feel very strongly about Kirk being our backup quarterback.”
Ok, which is it?
The answer is that there is no way the Falcons want to keep an overpriced, aging backup quarterback. There is also no way that – at this point in his career – Cousins would be okay to sit behind a young kid and not play.
Morris, for what it’s worth, knows that Cousins wants to play. He knows Cousins wants to be an NFL starting quarterback, even if it’s with another team (which is most likely).
“We won’t hold him back if opportunity presents itself,” Morris said. “He’s made it clear he’d like to be a starter.”
If Cousins is moved before June 1 (which is what would happen if they trade him this weekend), he will result in $37.5 million dead money cap hit. Ouch. There has been speculation that they could simply cut Cousins, but that doesn’t seem likely and that would still be a lot of dead money to absorb.
In other Falcons quarterback news, the team signed Easton Stick, a former fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019. He’s played in six games in six seasons.
Comments
Falcons GM Says Not “a surprise” Cousins Showed up for Workouts