Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has publicly stated that the team is comfortable with having Kirk Cousins be the backup to Michael Penix Jr. in 2025. This sentiment is being met with skepticism as Kirk Cousins has a heavy price tag with a combined base salary and signing bonus totaling $40 million next season. 

The bind and conundrum that the Falcons are in is finding a trade partner or dealing with a dead cap hit from an outright release. According to Spotrac, a pre June 1st release would yield a $65 million dead cap hit while a post June 1st release would yield a $40 million cap hit. The Falcons will be most motivated by a trade.

If the Falcons can swing a post June 1st trade they will save $27.5 million. A perfect match may be aligning for a reunion with Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. If the Browns are able to recoup insurance money for Deshaun Watson, it may make them more amenable to taking on a hefty portion of Cousins remaining contract. Running up against this idea is what the Cleveland Browns will do with the 2nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Stay tuned as every ripple effect takes place throughout the offseason.

Jeremiah Retzlaff, coachretzlaff1