The Atlanta Falcons have benched Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. for Week 16, but one report claims the team has not completely ruled out keeping Cousins in 2025.
According to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports, the Falcons have not shut Cousins down for the remainder of the season. The veteran will serve as the primary backup to Penix in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. In addition, Schrager said the Falcons plan to have an “open conversation” with Cousins at some point about the 36-year-old’s future.
“You’ve seen some of the stuff that he’s gonna be cut no matter what. I am told that is not the case,” Schrager said Sunday. “They’re gonna have an open conversation with Cousins if he is even willing to come back and be a No. 2 or to come back and compete for the No. 1. Also, he has a no-trade clause in his contract. They’re gonna probably listen to a lot of different suitors. That’s the ideal fitting finish for this — if Cousins finds a place he wants to go to, they can unload some of that massive contract.”
You can hear the report at the 50-second mark:
UP TO SPEED w/ @PSchrags:
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"There is a door open for Aaron Rodgers' return to New York next season." pic.twitter.com/ditnM0RiJB— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 22, 2024
That differs from what Adam Schefter reported on Saturday, which is that a split between Cousins and the Falcons is “inevitable.”
Penix is playing under a rookie contract. The Falcons will still owe Cousins a ton of guaranteed money if they cannot find a trade suitor for him. Financially, it would probably make sense for Atlanta to keep Cousins as an insurance policy for 2025 even if they commit to Penix as their starter, since they are paying Cousins anyway.
Of course, Cousins almost certainly is not going to agree to that arrangement. He already made it clear he did not know the Falcons were planning to draft a QB early in the first round. The odds of him remaining in Atlanta as a backup at this point in his career are incredibly slim.
