Rapoport: Falcons Can Keep Kirk Cousins, Wait for Injury on Another Team to Make Trade

Count NFL Network's Ian Rapoport among those who do not believe the Atlanta Falcons will release Kirk Cousins in the coming days.

He discussed the situation Wednesday and suggested Atlanta will hold onto him until another team may be in a more desperate situation and in need of a trade because of a quarterback injury.

"They can do this for as long as they want because it doesn't hurt them at all," Rapoport said. "Once they get past Sunday, they're paying the $27 million, they're paying the $10 million next year, and it doesn't matter because Michael Penix is cheap and they've committed to this contract. 

"To me, I don't think it's a fake at all. I think the Falcons can carry him. I think they will carry him. I think the next time Kirk Cousins changes teams, it's going to be when someone trades for him."

This comes after Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported the expectation is Atlanta will keep Cousins as its backup quarterback even though a $10 million roster bonus for 2026 will convert to become fully guaranteed if he isn't traded or released by Monday.

Cousins is also due to make $27.5 million in fully guaranteed salary in 2025, although Roboinson echoed Rapoport's comments and noted "a trade option would still remain on the table if a suitor for Cousins emerged and the quarterback was willing to waive his no-trade clause."

Atlanta could then cut the veteran after the 2025 season and create a situation where the $10 million in guarantees for 2026 would be subject to salary offsets and off the books if another team paid him more than that during the 2026 campaign.

The bottom line is it seems like the Michigan State product is off the board for teams looking to sign a veteran quarterback in free agency ahead of the NFL draft.

Had Atlanta released him prior to the Monday deadline, he would have joined the likes of Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers as experienced signal-callers on the market. Instead, it seems like the Falcons are going to keep him as an expensive backup.

With Penix on a rooke salary scale, that isn't as prohibitive as it would be for other teams with a starting quarterback making more money. And the presence of Cousins gives the Falcons a viable insurance policy under center as they eye a potential playoff run in the NFC South.

While he dealt with inconsistency last season as he returned from an Achilles injury he suffered in 2023, he is still a four-time Pro Bowler with seven seasons of more than 4,000 passing yards on his resume.

Contenders could do far worse than that as a backup option, even if he is set to make a significant amount of money.

And the Falcons will have plenty of leverage if another team is looking to get out of a trying situation with a quarterback injury by trading for him.