Falcons in no rush to make decision on Kirk Cousins

The Atlanta Falcons made the difficult decision towards the end of the 2024 season to move off of Kirk Cousins and hand over the starting quarterback job to Michael Penix Jr. But based on recent comments from Falcons GM Terry Fontenot, this doesn’t mean that it is a foregone conclusion that Kirk Cousins will be moved elsewhere anytime soon.

Atlanta notably gave Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million deal last offseason in free agency, which is obviously a significant amount of money to pay for someone to sit on the bench while Penix Jr. starts over him.

While it remains quite clear that unless anything unforeseen happens, Penix Jr. will be the starter in Atlanta, that doesn’t mean that Terry Fontenot is ready to give up on Cousins.

Fontenot spoke with Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio on Tuesday, outlining how he believes that the best course of action is to stay patient with Cousins.

“We have to be patient there,” said Fontenot. We’re always open with not just talking about Kirk, but with really anybody on our roster. You know, we have a lot of those calls with… I’ve probably talked to already six or seven GMs, since the draft ended, and they’re talking about their roster. We’re talking about our roster because after you get through the draft, that shifts some things in terms of needs and surplus and all that.

“And so we’re always patient with those types of things because if something comes to us with Kirk or any other player that makes sense and it’s going to help this team, then we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to do it. And if it’s not something that’s going to ultimately help this team, we always have to ask that question: Is it the best for the Atlanta Falcons or this organization? And if it is, we’re going to be willing to do it. But all that communication is always ongoing.”

Part of the reason that Fontenot may be hesitant for the time being in trading Cousins is that there isn’t exactly a market for him at the moment.

Cousins’ contract is obviously a significant one for any team to take on. And aside from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who appear destined to sign Aaron Rodgers at some point, there aren’t really teams that don’t have their quarterback situation figured out at this point.

That could obviously change as we approach training camp this summer if any quarterbacks happen to suffer serious injuries. But at least for the time being, Fontenot seems to believe that the demand may not be there for Cousins right now, which simultaneously means that offers may not be all that enticing in terms of what the Falcons would be receiving in return.