NFL Exec Calls Kirk Cousins Situation 'A Mess' Amid Browns, Steelers Trade Rumors

It seems wild that the Atlanta Falcons could keep Kirk Cousins into the 2025 season, making him the most expensive backup quarterback in football.

But it remains a possibility. On Wednesday, Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported that "several league sources" believe that owner Arthur Blank could keep Cousins to back up Michael Penix Jr. this season.

"There's been all this perceived chatter about Cleveland and Pittsburgh," a current executive told Schultz. "I don't see it. The Browns just got [Joe] Flacco, I heard they're out on Cousins. The Steelers still want Aaron Rodgers and are for sure drafting a quarterback. Atlanta's telling teams to eat some of that Cousins money, which nobody wants to do. Like nobody. My read is that the owner's going to just make his ass sit for another year and then cut him. That's a mess."

Nobody understood Atlanta's offseason last year, when they both signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal and drafted Penix in the first round. The Penix selection looks better in hindsight after Cousins was a disaster for the Falcons, but now the team appears to be stuck with a massively overpaid backup.

And keeping him for one more season before cutting him will still incur $35 million in dead cap space in 2026 (that number would be $75 million this year). So the Falcons don't really have a great out.