Kirk Cousins made a move to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2024 NFL offseason with hopes of elevating the team’s competitiveness. However, after just 14 games, Cousins finds himself relegated to the bench. The Falcons have decided to give rookie Michael Penix Jr. the start over Cousins in their upcoming Week 16 game against the New York Giants. Penix, a left-handed quarterback, was the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, making him the fifth of the six first-round quarterbacks from that class to start during his rookie season.
This benching follows a challenging period for the Falcons, who recently broke a four-game losing streak with a narrow 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15. Despite the win, the team nearly squandered a significant lead in the fourth quarter to their former starting quarterback, Desmond Ridder. In the game, Cousins had modest stats, going 11-of-17 for 112 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The coaching staff seemed hesitant to rely on Cousins’ passing, preferring to lean on running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, who carried the ball a combined 34 times.
The future looks uncertain for Cousins with the Falcons, given the waning trust and Penix’s status as a high draft pick. Both parties may consider seeking new opportunities in the 2025 NFL offseason, and Atlanta could potentially part ways with Cousins without much difficulty.
Regarding Cousins’ contract with the Falcons, here are the key details:
– Term: 4 years
– Total value: $180 million
– Average annual value (AAV): $45 million
– Guaranteed money: $100 million
Atlanta guaranteed $90 million of Cousins’ salary at signing and has already paid out $62.5 million. In case of parting ways in the 2025 NFL offseason, the Falcons would face a dead-cap hit of $65 million, which includes the remaining signing bonus and guaranteed salary. However, this hit could be reduced to $37.5 million if the Falcons were to trade Cousins instead.
The impending deadline for a decision on Cousins’ roster status is the fifth day of the 2025 league year, which could influence the team’s moves to avoid additional financial obligations. While the financial implications are considerable, having a promising young quarterback like Penix may provide some consolation to the Falcons in managing this situation.
Starting with the 36-year-old quarterback. NFL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 16: Who rises to No. 1 after Lions’ loss? Can the Falcons trade Kirk Cousins? Cousins’ recent performance has left a lot to be desired, but his contract looks like a moveable asset. Any suitor wishing to take on Cousins’ current contract would only owe him a guaranteed $37.5 million over the rest of his contract. That would stem from his fully guaranteed $27.5 million salary for the 2025 NFL season and his $10 million roster bonus for 2026.
Such a financial commitment is more than reasonable by today’s quarterback standards. And if either Cousins or the team acquiring him were unhappy with the remainder of the deal, they could work out an extension that lowers Cousins’ present-day cap hit, which would benefit the team acquiring him, while adding more guarantees to the future deal, which would benefit Cousins. The only way the Falcons might fail to trade Cousins is if the rest of the NFL’s teams believe his downturn is permanent. But given the dearth of talent at the quarterback position in general, it stands to reason that at least one team would be interested in trying to rebuild Cousins into a quality starter.
KIRK COUSINS LANDING SPOTS: Ranking Falcons QB’s top 10 best team fits in 2025 Kirk Cousins contract history Cousins has played for three teams during his NFL career – Washington, Minnesota, and Atlanta – and has signed several lucrative deals with each club. Below is a run-down of each deal that he has signed, dating back to his rookie contract in 2012.
2012: Cousins signs a four-year, $2.57 million rookie contract with Washington 2016: Cousins signs a one-year, $19.953 million franchise tag with Washington 2017: Cousins signs a one-year, $23.9 million franchise tag with Washington 2018: Cousins signs a three-year, $84 million contract with Minnesota 2020: Cousins signs a two-year, $66 million extension with Minnesota 2022: Cousins signs a one-year, $35 million extension with Minnesota 2024: Cousins signs a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta.
