The Atlanta Falcons’ mandatory minicamp is underway, and believe it or not, Kirk Cousins has been participating.
Cousins recently missed the Falcons’ voluntary OTAs, leaving many to wonder if the team had finally worked out a trade to send him elsewhere. But Cousins’ best remaining option — the Pittsburgh Steelers — closed when Aaron Rodgers signed with the team.
That leaves the Falcons and Cousins in an awkward position, where the veteran will now be backing up second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., all while making $27.5 million in the process.
MORE: Falcons’ Raheem Morris calls Kirk Cousins–Michael Penix Jr. tension ‘boring’
“Obviously, I would love to play,” Cousins said. “But I’m not going to dwell on things that aren’t reality. That’s not the situation I am in. So, I think, it’s better to be focused on the situation I’m in.”
If Atlanta truly wants to move on from Cousins, it’s going to take a three-way effort to do so, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
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“The lack of a Kirk Cousins trade at this point in the offseason is due to the actions of all three parties needed to complete a deal: the Falcons, the quarterback-hungry suitors and Cousins himself,” Breer wrote.
Breer noted that teams like the Steelers — and even the Browns — weren’t willing to take on a chunk of Cousins’ massive contract. As a result, the Falcons are choosing to take on another season with him, even if it means he’ll be riding the bench.
Another point Breer made is that Cousins may have overplayed his hand by waiting to see how the 2025 NFL Draft played out. He was hoping to avoid a situation like last season, when Atlanta drafted Penix shortly after signing him to a $180 million deal.
Attempting to determine Cousins’ value is difficult, especially after how he spiraled last year. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin says he’s a “borderline starter” at this point in his career. But that might also explain why Atlanta is hanging onto him.
“Maybe this is why Atlanta has stubbornly delayed his long-anticipated exit,” Benjamin wrote. “While Cousins looked fairly depleted in much of his failed debut as the Falcons’ starter and his post-benching departure has been telegraphed for months, he’s still a borderline starter in this league. When healthy and protected, he’s been one of the game’s most reliable play-action vets of the last decade. That counts for something, even as he approaches age 37.”
Cousins will have eyes on him all season — at least until the trade deadline later in the year. Until then, the Falcons may just have the best quarterback room in the NFL. After all, they’re certainly paying for it.
