Marc Raimondi, ESPN staff writer
FLOWRY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons general manager says the team is ready to bring in one of the most expensive backup quarterbacks in NFL history.
The Falcons benched quarterback Kirk Cousins in Week 16 after throwing nine interceptions and just one touchdown pass in five straight games. Rookie Michael Penix, who was expected to be the quarterback of the future, was thrust into the starting role in the final three weeks of the season and performed well, although the team fell to an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March, with $90 million guaranteed in the first two years. Penix, the eighth overall pick in April, will be the Falcons’ starting quarterback in 2025 and beyond.
What about Cousins and his contract? Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said the team is willing to keep him as Penix’s No. 2.
“Kirk is a great guy, he’s a tremendous support for Mike, he’s a great teammate, he’s a tremendous support for everyone in the building,” Fontenot said at a news conference Thursday. , so we’re very confident about having him as a backup going forward.”
Regarding the salary cap hit and keeping a quarterback on the bench, Fontenot said the Falcons have allocated funds for Cousins as the No. 1 player.
Fontenot said the expectation is “to get a high level of quarterback performance over two seasons.”
“We know that’s not happening,” Fontenot said. “Nobody was willing to make a change at the time … so what happens now is we have to accelerate the program and go to Mike early, but the allocation at the quarterback position — the cap allocation — is eighth in our league.
“That’s our plan with Kirk being the starter. He’s no longer a starter, but we’re happy to have him as a backup moving forward.”
Fontenot added that Cousins is healthy and that his sharp decline in performance has nothing to do with his return from a torn Achilles tendon in 2023.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last month that the league’s expectation is that the Falcons will cut Cousins before March 17, at which time Cousins will receive a $10 million player bonus. Fontenot said Thursday that report was baseless.
According to the roster management system, if the Falcons release Cousins before the start of the 2025 league year (March 12), they will face $65 million in dead money, including Cousins’ $27.5 million fully guaranteed base salary and $37.5 million. The remaining $10,000 is prorated. If they designate after June 1, the dead money would be spread over the 2025 and 2026 seasons — $40 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026.
Fontenot’s comments could be interpreted as a gesture toward a potential deal. Cousins has a no-trade clause. If Atlanta trades him, the team will assume the remaining $37.5 million in prorated liability, while his fully guaranteed base salary of $27.5 million will be transferred to his new team. It’s also possible Atlanta will have to pick up some of the cost of the $27.5 million deal.
Regarding a potential trade for Cousins, Fontenot said, “We’ll be open to those things.”
“Everyone has to do this, including his camp, his supporters, [Cousins’ agent] Mike McCartney, Kirk Cousins, us, the other team,” Fontenot said. “There’s a lot of layers to it and we’ll take them as they come up. “
McCartney did not immediately respond to ESPN’s request for comment Thursday.
Fontenot said he didn’t want to reveal the conversations he and the team had with Cousins about serving as Penix’s backup in 2025.
“We will keep these discussions confidential as we move forward, but I just want to make it clear that we are very happy with this [Cousins] As a backup,” Fontenot said.
