Kirk Cousins isn’t good enough to be Atlanta’s starting quarterback, but the Falcons want him as their backup.
On Thursday, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot made the surprising admission when addressing the media following the Falcons’ disappointing end to the 2024 season.
Per Falcons senior reporter Tori McElhaney, Fontenot initially said that Atlanta expected “high-level quarterback play” from Cousins this season after giving him two years guaranteed on a four-year $180 million contract signed last offseason.
While that didn’t happen, Fontenot said, “We’re very comfortable moving forward with [Cousins] as a backup.” (h/t McElhaney)
Cousins started 14 games this season. He was 303-of-453 (66.9 percent) for 3,508 yards (7.7 yards per attempt), 18 touchdowns and a league-high 16 interceptions before being benched after an awful performance against the Raiders when he had 112 passing yards in a 15-9 win.
During his last five starts, Cousins had one touchdown and nine interceptions.
Atlanta selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick one month after signing Cousins. He performed well enough down the stretch to earn the starting role in 2025, making Cousins expendable.
If the Falcons keep the 13-year veteran, it could do more harm than good. Per Spotrac, he has a $10 million roster bonus for 2026 that becomes fully guaranteed on March 16, the fifth league day of 2025.
It makes little to no sense for Atlanta to give Cousins more money after he failed so spectacularly as the team’s starter. But waiving Cousins comes with its own downside.
Per Spotrac, if the Falcons cut Cousins using the post-June 1 designation, which would be most advantageous to the organization, Cousins would count as $40 million in dead money in 2025 and $25 million in 2026, while the team would see no savings this offseason.
Still, that would be the lesser of two evils for Atlanta. However, according to Fontenot, the Falcons have no problem taking the less desirable path.
