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Arguably the biggest storyline of this offseason for the Atlanta Falcons is what the team will do regarding the future of Kirk Cousins, whom they owe $27.5 million in fully guaranteed money this upcoming NFL season. Cousins started out relatively strong during his tenure with the Falcons but saw his production fall off a cliff down the stretch, ultimately paving the way for rookie Michael Penix Jr. to take over the starting job toward the end of the season.
Recently, Falcons fans got some perhaps unexpected news as offseason practices got underway.
“Per NFL League source… On this very first day of Falcons voluntary workouts… Quarterback Kirk Cousins is with the team,” reported Zach Klein of WSB-TV on X.
However, Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team later clarified that “the belief is Cousins and his camp prefer to wait until after the draft before exploring trade options — but for now, he’s in the building. Atlanta is paying him $27.5M fully-guaranteed this season.”
This would seem to indicate the Cousins and his camp are still toying with the idea of looking for greener pastures via a trade this summer.
A bizarre saga
It was just about a year ago when the Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL world by using their first round pick on quarterback Michael Penix Jr. just weeks after signing Cousins to one of the most lucrative deals of that year's free agency period.
The move signaled a lack of commitment on the part of the team's front office. Fast forward a year, and Falcons fans are certainly happy to have Penix Jr. on their roster, but have to be left wondering why Cousins was ever brought in to begin with.
Cousins looked like a shell of himself for a large chunk of the 2024 season, beginning with a road loss against the New Orleans Saints and culminating in a disastrous performance in a road game vs the Las Vegas Raiders.
It's unclear what kind of market might exist for Cousins in a potential trade, but Falcons fans probably wouldn't be upset at the idea of moving on.
