Falcons Comfortable Keeping Kirk Cousins In A Situation He Dislikes Because He's A Good Man

The problem for Kirk Cousins right now? He's a good man. Nice, God-fearing, hard worker – a professional who does the right things.

Cousins is such a good dude, supportive teammate, and positive force for any NFL team, that multiple coaches who have previously gone their separate ways from him would seriously consider a reunion with him, as their possible starting quarterback, because adding Cousins to any locker room is a net plus.

Those are the possibilities with the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings for sure. 

Cousins is such a good dude, the President of the United States befriended him years ago and hosted him at the White House last week.

Cousins Wants Out Of Atlanta

But that's a problem for Cousins because the Atlanta Falcons believe in his goodness, too. So, they're comfortable having Cousins as their backup right now even though he is clearly unhappy being on their team in that role.

Cousins, we all know, lost the Falcons' starting job last season to Michael Penix Jr. Cousins went from being the NFL's touchdown pass leader to the NFL's interception leader in the span of weeks and the Falcons did the logical thing and benched him.

This offseason, NFL executives have been expecting the Falcons to move on from Cousins because his $180 million contract is set to pay him $27.5 million in base salary, and that is crazy money for a backup quarterback. It makes sense for the Falcons to move on and start the salary cap savings process for future years.

But the Falcons have dug in. They're telling everyone Cousins is staying on their team. As their backup. Even at that ridiculous price.

Because, they say, it's in their best interest to have it that way.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot during the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Fontenot: Falcons Comfortable With QBs

"Yeah, we understand that it’s not ideal to have a [backup] quarterback at that cap number," Fontenot said at the Indianapolis Combine two weeks ago. "Now, when we gave him that contract, the expectation was for him to be the starter at this point. So, that is a good number for a starting quarterback. 

"But now that he’s the backup, when we say we’re comfortable, we’re talking about the total funds allocated to the quarterback position. That’s already baked in."

No one in the NFL has bought into this stance. No one.

It's unorthodox.

But as the weeks have passed, the free agency negotiating and trading period came and went, and the league year approaches at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Falcons have remained steadfast.

Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

So Cousins is handcuffed to a team that signed him to start, benched him, and has made it clear he's not playing in 2025 unless Penix Jr. is injured.

Cousins requested and got a meeting with Falcons owner Arthur Blank to explain he preferred to be on another team where he could have a chance to play.

But that meeting meant to solve the problem might have become part of the problem for Cousins. Because it was cordial. Respectful.

And that gives the Falcons no real motivation to release Cousins.

Teams reward good players who are respectful and good teammates on their rosters if they can. That's what Cousins is. But those great traits are actually working against him now.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 15: Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank looks on from the sideline during the final minutes of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Cousins Costing Himself Opportunities

The only way Cousins could convince the Falcons should move on would be to make the club's existence harder.

He needs to announce he's not showing up for any offseason activities.

He needs to announce he's not there to be the mentor to Penix Jr. he was last year.

He might even need to talk about possibly missing training camp – which would result in fines if he follows through.

Such an announcement would clearly get everyone's attention in Atlanta. And it might – might – convince the Falcons that breaking ties is the way to go after all. Teams, you see, do not like distractions.

Cousins needs to go public – go all out wrestling heel – if he wants to unshackle himself from a situation he privately dislikes.   

The problem with this strategy? It's not who Cousins is. He is a great dude.

And right now, that is costing him a chance to be a starting NFL quarterback somewhere else.