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The Atlanta Falcons took a sizable step toward their future when they made first-round rookie Michael Penix Jr. their starting quarterback late in the 2024 NFL season.
An even more critical move forward should come this offseason—so long as they can find a taker for Kirk Cousins.
The veteran signal-caller flopped during his first season of a four-year, $180 million deal with Atlanta. Prior to his late-season demotion, he had nearly matched his 18 touchdown passes with 16 interceptions while posting his worst quarterback rating in a decade (88.6).
It sounds as if the Falcons have seen enough and are ready to move on, but only if they’re able to sniff out a trade partner.
Per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, they “are not just going to release [Cousins]” and are “willing to bring him back as a backup” if they can’t find a trade.
Cameron Wolfe @CameronWolfe
Falcons plan for Michael Penix Jr. to be their starting QB in 2025 & ideally for 10+ years. He’s showed plenty of poise & playmaking.
More from @nflnetwork on Penix and nuggets about what it means for Kirk Cousins in 2025: pic.twitter.com/C5RLK9fYSZ
It’s worth noting, of course, that taking this report at face value might be doing Atlanta a favor.
Interest in Cousins around the league feels debatable at best, even with the assumption that the Falcons would have to eat a big chunk of his contract as part of any exchange. Making this situation even trickier, the 36-year-old holds a no-trade clause, meaning Atlanta doesn’t have complete control of the situation.
There was also a late December report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter noting that league executives are “fully expecting” Atlanta to release Cousins before a $10 million roster bonus comes due on March 17.
In terms of leverage, then, the Falcons have little to none. And they probably know that, hence their rumored comfort with the idea of him serving as a wildly high-priced clipboard-holder behind Penix.
That situation already sounds uncomfortable, and it hasn’t even started yet. Atlanta can’t acknowledge this publicly, but the franchise has to know Penix doesn’t need that type of distraction.
The Falcons need to remove Cousins from the equation and let Penix develop on his own. Even bottom-dollar offers could prove immensely valuable if they help further the rookie’s progression as an NFL starter. And if they can’t even find low-ball offers, they should rethink their stance on not releasing the veteran.
Because this move, like all the others Atlanta will make for the foreseeable future, needs to be viewed through the lens of how it impacts Penix. He’s either already its franchise quarterback or at least someone well-deserving of multiple chances to prove he can be that type of player.
“Realistically, the light at the end of the tunnel for us, despite how bad and poor we played on defense or anywhere else, is the quarterback,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris told reporters. “… We’ll figure out ways to fix the things we got to get done. But Michael Penix is certainly outstanding. He’s certainly one of the guys that’s going to play in this league and absolutely dominate for as long as we allow him.”
Penix, the 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up and last year’s No. 8 pick, showed plenty of promise during his late-season audition. He led the Falcons to victory in his first start, then tallied 535 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing score over his final two outings. Atlanta, which averaged 22.9 points on the season, put up 96 points in those three contests.
With the amount of draft capital the Falcons have invested in playmakers—before the Penix pick, they spent top-10 selections on tight end Kyle Pitts (No. 4 in 2021), wide receiver Drake London (No. 8 in 2022) and running back Bijan Robinson (No. 8 in 2023)—the future for this offense, and hopefully the team overall, should be bright.
It can be if Atlanta fully commits to Penix’s development, which means finding a way out of the Cousins experiment gone awry.
