The Atlanta Falcons have been pretty dug in on their stance with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins throughout the early portion of the season. The Falcons signed Cousins to a huge four-year, $180M contract last year in free agency to be their starting quarterback.
However, the Cousins’ experiment went awry last season as head coach Raheem benched the veteran for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Last year, the
With the Penix era underway, Atlanta views the 36-year-old quarterback as a backup and doesn’t seem to be in a rush to trade him.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Cousins, who is now fully healthy, is expected to be in “blistering form” in 2025 and doesn’t want to sit behind a rookie.
It's understandable why Cousins doesn’t want to sit behind a young quarterback. However, he doesn’t have many options. The New York Giants signed two veteran quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.
Meanwhile, the Browns, who were viewed as another potential option for Cousins, traded for former Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller Kenny Pickett, and they have the No. 2 overall pick.
If the Browns don’t work, Cabot threw out another potential option for Cousins, also in the AFC North.
"The other team still needing a quarterback right now is the Steelers, who have the No. 21 pick in the draft. If they don’t land Aaron Rodgers, they’ll likely be interested in Cousins.”
The Falcons aren’t in an ideal position, as holding on to a veteran quarterback who is still owed a huge lump sum of money keeps them from potentially making other moves.
And not to mention, Cousins’ 2026 roster bonus of $10 million was reportedly guaranteed on the fifth league day of 2025. With NFL free agency coming to a standstill, it will be hard for Atlanta to trade Cousins before the 2025 NFL Draft late next month.
However, if Atlanta has any opportunity to move the veteran quarterback, it could happen during the draft, where teams are looking to move picks and add players.