NFL Insider Offers Simple Reason for Why Falcons Haven't Traded Kirk Cousins Yet

Michael Penix Jr. is Atlanta's QB of the future, yet Kirk Cousins remains on the roster. Ian Rapoport explained why on Wednesday.

Cousins signed a $180 million deal with the Falcons last offseason / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The NFL offseason is fully underway, with teams around the league executing a flurry of free agent signings and trades to reshape their rosters for the 2025 season. One of the most notable moves that hasn't been made? The Atlanta Falcons moving on from Kirk Cousins.

After the Cousins experiment epically crashed and burned last season, the Falcons gave the franchise keys to rookie signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. despite the enormous contract Cousins signed months prior. Entering this offseason the front office held the position that the plan was to keep the veteran QB on the roster as a backup for 2025.

But after Cousins requested the team find him a new home and an opportunity to start in a meeting with owner Arthur Blank, a trade not only seemed possible but likely. With the dust settling after the first wave of free agency, though, he remains on the roster, and on Sunday an option of his contract will exercise that guarantees Cousins an extra $10 million in the 2026 season. Because of that option, some expected Atlanta to move on before then, but there's been no movement.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport explained why on Wednesday night and offered a simple reason: the Falcons are already on the hook for Cousins's 2025 salary, checking in at $27.5 million. So what's the rush?

"They're already paying the salary," Rapoport said. “No matter what, the Falcons are paying the salary for Kirk Cousins. He can be the backup quarterback, no big deal. He can be the backup quarterback until September when someone else sustains a quarterback injury and they're like, 'Hello! We've got a guy, send us a third-round pick for a starting quarterback and here we go.' They can do this for as long as they want and it doesn't hurt them at all."

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: How long can the #Falcons keep QB Kirk Cousins? As long as they want. pic.twitter.com/3crfYaRnKD

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2025

Essentially, the Falcons know they’re going to be paying Cousins the $90 million he was guaranteed at signing. While that number jumps to $100 million after Sunday, to the Falcons, that extra $10 million is just the cost of doing business as they hold out for a trade that could manifest in the middle of the season and result in a pick coming back their way.

In other words, the Falcons have a very long timeline to get off the final two years of the Cousins deal. They can be patient, and it sounds like they will be.

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