NFL Insiders' New Take on MSU Legend Kirk Cousins Situation

Former Michigan State Spartan Kirk Cousins has been highly linked to leaving the Atlanta Falcons before the start of the 2025 campaign, but one NFL insider believes otherwise.

Nov 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) celebrates after a victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It's been a topic all offseason: What are the Atlanta Falcons going to do with former Michigan State Spartan Kirk Cousins?

The Falcons brought in Cousins in hopes that he would be able to lead the franchise to victory on the back end of his career. Unfortunately for both parties, Cousins wasn't the best he could have been, as he led the National Football League in interceptions last season.

Eventually, the MSU product got benched for the new rookie in town, Michael Penix Jr. As we continue to inch closer to the 2025 NFL campaign, a lot is still left unanswered. Will Cousins be on the Atlanta roster to start the season, or will he be flipped to be the starting quarterback elsewhere?

It was rumored that Cousins would be a strong fit for the Cleveland Browns, but following the signing of Joe Flacco, him being in Cleveland next season doesn't seem as likely. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the former Spartan could be staying exactly where he is, and in a role he might not enjoy being told he has to play.

"They've basically done everything they've said," Rapoport said when he joined "The Rich Eisen Show" this week. "The Falcons are demanding to pay an X amount of portion of salary, not a small amount, or maybe a mid-round pick for Kirk Cousins.

"That to me is they're saying for real this time, this guy's probably our backup, and if Cousins is their backup, they shouldn't give him away."

It's hard to believe that a player such as Cousins and how strongly he's preformed over the years has been delegated to the backup role, but that might be the simplest card to be dealt. Perhaps there's a world where Cousins still starts for Atlanta, but the chances of him packing his bags to change teams continues to dwindle.

Going into his 14th season in the NFL, the former Spartan could be spending a ton of time reviewing tape in preparation for the new campaign. After all, Penix could struggle early on for the franchise, leaving them no choice but to hand the reigns back over to the veteran to live out the length of his contract.

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