How Kirk Cousins' $180M Contract Impacts Falcons Salary Cap if QB Traded, Cut in 2025

With the announcement on Tuesday that Michael Penix Jr. was taking over as the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback going forward, replacing Kirk Cousins, the next logical question is what the future holds for the veteran quarterback.

And, in turn, how it will impact the Falcons.

There are three main options. The first, and probably the most unlikely at this point, is that the Falcons simply keep Cousins as insurance for Penix. If the rookie struggles down the stretch this year, it's certainly a possibility, though it would mean taking on Cousins' $40 million cap hit, $27.5 million base salary and the $10 million roster bonus for 2026 they would owe him if he was on the roster by the fifth day of the 2025 league year.

That's an expensive backup plan, though the Falcons could always cut him after the 2025 season and incur $25 million in dead cap.

That isn't pocket change, but it's far less dead cap than they'd take on if they took option two, which is releasing him outright after this season. That, however, would come with a prohibitive $65 million in dead cap, which would be the second largest dead cap charge in NFL history, trailing only the $85 million in dead cap the Denver Broncos absorbed after cutting Russell Wilson.

The Broncos could either take that hit in one season or spread it out between 2025-26.

The third option, and probably the most ideal for Atlanta, is finding a trade suitor for Cousins. By dealing him, the Falcons wouldn't be on the hook for his $27.5 million base salary, leaving them with a dead cap charge of $37.5 million.

Again, no small number, but better than the alternative.

But this option not only needs teams around the NFL to have interest in trading for Cousins, but he also has to agree on the destination, given his no-trade clause. Both of those factors could be complicated, as Cousins threw for just one touchdowns and nine interceptions in his past nine games.

That might have contenders wary to put much trust in him, while Cousins may be less than inclined to join a non-contender.

It will be an interesting offseason for the Falcons, in other words. But however they play it, the Penix era has begun in Atlanta.