The Falcons will likely be fine with a $180 million backup quarterback.
Atlanta general manager Terry Fontenot said the team is “comfortable” with Kirk Cousins remaining as No. 2 behind Michael Penix Jr. in 2025.
“Kirk is a great guy, great support for Mike, great teammates, everyone in the building, so we're very confident moving forward with him as our backup,” Fontenot said Thursday. spoke at a press conference.
Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons last offseason, struggled in his first season in Atlanta after coming back from a torn Achilles tendon.
The 36-year-old had a career-high and league-high 16 interceptions in just 14 games before losing his starting spot to Penix, who Atlanta took with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Fontenot told reporters Thursday that when the team signed Cousins to a big contract last March, the team expected Cousins to be “able to play quarterback at a high level for two seasons.”
“We understand that that did not happen,” Fontenot continued. “No one was willing to make this switch at the time. … So what happens is we should have accelerated that plan and gotten to Mike sooner. , the quarterback position allocation, or cap allocation, ended up being eighth in the league.
“That's what we planned to do with Kirk as a starter. Even though he's no longer a starter, we're very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup.”
In December, ESPN reported that Cousins was expected to be waived by Atlanta before reaching his $10 million roster bonus on March 1st, but NFL Network disputed this and announced the following day that Cousins was expected to be released by Atlanta before reaching his $10 million roster bonus. It was reported that leaving the country is not “out of consideration.”
If they keep Cousins through March 1st, the Falcons will certainly leave him dangling on the trade market in hopes of getting him out of his big contract.
After a brief appearance in two games before earning the starting job, Penix threw for 737 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions in his final three games as QB1 for the Falcons.
