The biggest question for the Atlanta Falcons in the 2025 offseason is the future of Kirk Cousins. What will happen with the 36-year-old quarterback as he is entering the second year of his four-year, $180 million contract will be a huge factor in what the Falcons can do to address the other holes on their roster.
After a disastrous 14-game stretch, Cousins was eventually benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. Many around the league assumed that this would augur an offseason departure for Cousins. It turns out, however, that Cousins' time in Atlanta may not be coming to an end any time soon.
Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reported that Cousins "could stay in Atlanta on a renegotiated deal" and added that "people close to Kirk Cousins" have increasingly been talking about that possibility.
This is in line with recent reporting from Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, who said that the Falcons are willing to start the season with Cousins as an expensive backup to Penix. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently reported that some teams around the league weren't buying the idea that Atlanta would cut Cousins.
Perhaps this is GM Terry Fontenot's way of trying to gain some leverage in trade talks for Cousins. Atlanta is already on the hook for $27.5 million for Cousins next season. Keeping him on the roster adds a $10 million bonus to their books. For a cash-strapped team like the Falcons, that is a ton of money to pay your QB2.
That is potentially why the Falcons and Cousins could be working on a contract renegotiation. This would free up more cap space for Atlanta to help them build out the roster in free agency.
Whether this latest update forces teams like the Browns and the Giants to give up anything of value in a trade for Cousins remains to be seen. While it seemed highly improbable that Cousins would return to Atlanta for another season, the chances of that happening seem to be increasing by the day.