Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins could welcome a trade from the Atlanta Falcons to any team willing to make him their starter now that the club has 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. atop its depth chart.
However, for a mailbag published on Wednesday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated explained why he thinks Cousins could serve as Penix’s backup during the upcoming season.
“It feels, to me at least, like it’ll take a material change to someone else’s quarterback situation (be it by performance or injury) for Cousins to wind up on another team,” Breer wrote. “My understanding is that once camp starts, Cousins, whose family is now rooted in his wife’s home state of Georgia, might not just waive his no-trade clause to start anywhere — it may take the right situation for him to go. I wouldn’t say this story is over. But we are well into the back half of the book.”
Atlanta’s first training camp practice is set to take place on July 24.
Cousins’ wife grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, and her background reportedly impacted his decision to accept a four-year deal worth up to $180M with $100M guaranteed offered by the Falcons back in March 2024. The relationship between Cousins and the club has seemingly not been the same since the team selected Penix with the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft. Still, there is also no indication that the Falcons will release the 36-year-old before the 2025 season begins.
While Cousins theoretically could afford to stay away from the Falcons during training camp in an attempt to receive his desired release, the fact that he attended mandatory minicamp sessions indicates he will report to training camp on time. Meanwhile, clubs such as the Pittsburgh Steelers that could have been interested in acquiring Cousins back in March have since made other arrangements (such as Pittsburgh signing Aaron Rodgers).
Breer’s update could serve as a “come get me” signal to other franchises regarding Cousins’ availability. Things often change quickly in the NFL, but there’s currently no reason to think any team will give up a meaningful asset and pay a significant portion of Cousins’ salary to make him its QB1 before the final weekend of July arrives.
