Where Kirk Cousins Stands With Falcons After Meeting With Owner Arthur Blank

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Kirk Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons last season. Less than one year later, his time with the team may be coming to a close.
According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Cousins met with team owner Arthur Blank this week and told him he "wants to go to a place where he can start in 2025."
"The Falcons brass has said it'd do what's best for the team at QB," Breer added—so a decision remains to be determined.
Sources: QB Kirk Cousins asked for, and got, a meeting with Falcons owner Arthur Blank on his future. Blank and Cousins had that meeting Wednesday night—the QB wants to go to a place where he can start in 2025.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 7, 2025
The Falcons brass has said it'd do what's best for the team at QB.
Just over a month after signing Cousins to his mega-deal last March, the Falcons drafted his replacement in Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. While originally committing to Cousins as their starter, he was benched in December after a 1–4 midseason stretch, and the team went to the rookie for the final three weeks of the campaign.
Atlanta is now set to move forward with Penix, and Cousins hopes to find another destination to compete as a starter in 2025.
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Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.