The Falcons season isn’t technically over, but they’ll need a lot of help to capture a postseason berth.
They will have to beat the Panthers on Sunday, and they’ll need the Saints, who are two-touchdown underdogs, to upset the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. It’s incredibly unlikely, meaning the Falcons season is likely over.
The offseason is sure to be entertaining, though. Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot will more than likely be back in Atlanta, so they’ll be making the decision on Kirk Cousins and his future.
The Falcons would love to trade the veteran with a post-June 1 designation because it brings with it the most beneficial financial scenario for the organization. However, Cousins would have to wave his no trade clause, which doesn’t make much sense for him to do.
Similar to the Russell Wilson and Broncos dynamic last offseason, it’s not in Cousins’ best interest to help out the Falcons, which he isn’t expected to do, according to a report from Adam Schefter, who added that the expectation is the club will cut Cousins this offseason.
“Had the situation in Atlanta been handled differently, in the eyes of executives across the league, the Falcons maybe would have had a chance to work with Cousins to facilitate a trade to another team. But considering the history that has unfolded in recent months, that is not expected to be the case,” Schefter writes.
That isn’t the only idea going around, though. Unsurprisingly, it seems the organization has a delusional idea of where things currently sit with their quarterback situation, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall.
“Behind the scenes, team officials have floated the idea that Cousins could be the Falcons’ backup throughout next season because Penix’s rookie salary ($5.2 million in 2025) gives the team flexibility to keep Cousins’ $40 million cap hit on the books,” the Falcons beat writer said.
Then, there’s the notion the Cousins’ career is over. According to NFL insider James Palmer, the Falcons believe Kirk Cousins cannot physically play the quarterback position anymore, which has led to the staff believing he was unplayable and his career might be finished.
“If you talk to anybody in Atlanta, they will tell you he has just fallen off a cliff, which does happen to some older quarterbacks,” Palmer said. “They believe he can’t play the position physically anymore. He just couldn’t play it physically any more in the eyes of the Falcons. That bled into some issues in the way he played the position mentally as well… It led into a position where they believed he was unplayable.”
Add another possibility to the mix! According to a piece from Jeremy Fowler and Daniel Oyefusi, a reunion between Kevin Stefanski and Kirk Cousins could come to fruition as the Browns spin the wheels on the Falcons’ current backup.
“One team source said “any veteran with starter’s talent” will be evaluated by the Browns, including current Atlanta Falcons backup Kirk Cousins, should he become available as expected.”
Of course, the Browns wouldn’t have to trade for Kirk Cousins. They could just wait for Cousins to force the Falcon’s hand and then sign him to a league-minimum deal like the Steelers did with Russell Wilson. That’s the most likely scenario, while there’s almost no scenario where the Falcons end up trading the veteran, meaning they’ll end up paying $90 million for 14 games.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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