The water has run dry for Cousins in the ATL. The Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Kirk Cousins will reportedly go their separate ways at the conclusion of the season, according to ESPN’s Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The 36-year-old signal caller, who is in his first year with the Falcons, is expected to be cut prior to March 17, which is when he is owed a fat $10 million roster bonus.
“There’s a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that, unfortunately, I wasn’t playing up to that standard consistently enough,” Cousins said Wednesday in his first comments since being benched. “And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready — ‘one play away’ kind of a thing — and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that’s what it’s all about.”
After head coach Raheem Morris announced this week that rookie Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick out of the University of Washington, would take over the starting duties at the quarterback position for the final three games, a divorce with Cousins seemed inevitable.
Cousins inked a lucrative four-year, $180 million deal in the offseason to join the ‘Dirty Birds’ after six seasons in the ‘Twin Cities’ with the Minnesota Vikings. A month and a half after the free agent deal, as stated previously, Atlanta used the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Penix.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Cousins situation is similar to what happened between the Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson earlier this year. The quarterback was cut before his $37 million salary became fully guaranteed on March 17. After being released, Wilson would sign a one-year, $1.2 million deal with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the event that Cousins maybe sporting a different uniform in 2025, the Falcons would shell out $26.3 million of the $27.5 million owed to him next season.
There will be several suiters in search of a quarterback in the offseason and, like Wilson, ones they could get on the cheaper side of things would know doubt become instantly more attractive.
Wilson, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones will be among those likely on the market and teams such as the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders could be interested in Cousins bridge if they are looking for a place holder to mentor a young signal caller they hope to select in the 2025 draft or, in the case of the Titans and Colts, they currently have under contract. Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson even threw the Cleveland Browns into the mix for Cousins if they want someone to provide competition for Deshaun Watson.
Cousins, who returned this season after suffering a torn Achilles in 2023, has thrown for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions for the .500 Falcons (7-7), who have slim to none playoff chances with three games to play. He has been picked off in 10 of 14 games played.
