The Atlanta Falcons' biggest offseason problem is figuring out to do with the disastrous contract of much-maligned quarterback Kirk Cousins. It'll go down as one of the worst decisions in franchise history, though the franchise wisely gave itself a contingency plan by drafting Michael Penix in the first round.
It's obvious that Cousins' days in Atlanta are limited. The only real question is whether or not he'll be outright released or traded to one of the handful of teams in desperate need of competent quarterback play in a barren free-agent market.
Fortunately for the Falcons, they seemingly were just handed a lifeboat thanks to the NFL's major salary cap announcement on Wednesday.
The NFL informed teams today that the 2025 salary cap will be roughly $277.5M-$281.5M, per @DanGrazianoESPN.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 19, 2025
That's an increase of $22.1M-$26.1M from last year — and beats what most executives were anticipating. 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/gnqFiBvGlH
NFL Salary Cap News Gives Falcons Better Chance to Trade Kirk Cousins
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the NFL informed teams that the 2025 salary cap would rise from by roughly $22.1 million to $26.1 million, resulting in a final cap between $277.5 million and $281.5 million. That's a stark increase from what most executives were expecting and gives opposing teams much more room to work with to absorb Cousins' bloated contract.
Cousins carries a $40 million cap hit in 2025 with a $65 million dead cap hit. However, the dead cap hit falls to $25 million in 2026 and $12.5 million in 2027, so any team acquiring Cousins could now feel more comfortable sticking with him for a year and then having the ability to cut him if things don't go well.
For teams like the New York Giants or Las Vegas Raiders, for example, trading for an established veteran like Cousins suddenly might be a prudent decision. The 2025 quarterback class is considered among the weakest in years, giving Cousins a leg-up on the competition, especially if a franchise wants some time to develop a young signal caller.
It's obvious that Cousins' days as a borderline top-10 quarterback are over. However, a coaching staff might convince themselves that his terrible play in 2024 was due to the shoulder injury he suffered in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, and desperate times call for desperate measures.
At the very least, the Falcons stand in a better position today to trade Cousins and put this mistake behind him than they did yesterday.