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What the Falcons' Latest Roster Move Suggests About Kirk Cousins's Future

Everyone's wondering about Kirk.

Brigid Kennedy

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins on Dec 16, 2024.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins on Dec 16, 2024. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Among this offseason's most pressing quarterback questions is the future of Kirk Cousins—a veteran superstar who had one of the worst, if not the worst, five-game stretches of his career last season. He was then benched in favor of Atlanta Falcons rookie Michael Pennix Jr., and, in a telling show of humility, even he seemed to understand why.

As far as options moving forward, the Falcons could trade Cousins—though he does have a no-trade clause—or use him as backup QB come the fall, which general manager Terry Fontenot has said he'd be "very comfortable" with. But the 36-year-old signal caller is due a guaranteed salary of $27.5 million in 2025, which is a lot of money to be paying a QB2.

So what will Atlanta do? We still don't know officially, but a roster move on Saturday might tell us a bit more than we knew before. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates, the Falcons will be keeping Cousins on their roster past 4 p.m. ET Saturday, triggering a $10 million roster bonus for 2026.

As Schefter notes, such a choice removes the need to rush the decision, whatever that decision may be.

According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Cousins wearing a Falcons uniform in 2025 is the most likely scenario at this point of the offseason—although he is reportedly "frustrated" with the situation.

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Falcons beat writer Josh Kendall believes that in paying Cousins the money, the Falcons can increase the "motivation of other teams to make a trade offer if they want Cousins," and also motivate the QB "to be open to more trade destinations." So in Kendall's estimation, an exit is coming—the club probably just wants to make sure they get something in return for their former QB1 and is perhaps priming for a trade.

Adds NFL Network's Mike Garafolo: "The Falcons were never bluffing here. The $10 [million] for 2026 is subject to offset language, meaning whoever is paying him next year will pick up Atlanta’s tab for part or all of the guarantee. This deadline might cost Atlanta $0 in the end. Worth it to hold him and wait for a trade."

So while the quarterback's future is not yet cemented, it would seem the Falcons are priming themselves for the possibility of a trade, and trying to minimize their financial obligations in that event.

Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons last offseason with $90 million guaranteed.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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