One of the Falcons’ most controversial offseason choices may finally get its test run — even if it looks nothing like what Atlanta imagined

It’s a chance for the Falcons to fall into bad process but good results, after all!

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Nov 17, 2025 12:12 PM EST

One of the Atlanta Falcons‘ most controversial decisions of the offseason has a chance to pay off, after all. The Falcons, who are mired in the midst of a disaster of a season that has been totally derailed over the course of the last month, are now facing down the prospect of finishing out this season without their young first-round quarterback, Michael Penix Jr.

It was reported on Monday that Penix Jr.’s ailing knee may end his 2025 campaign, which sets the stage for a return of Kirk Cousins to the lineup behind center full-time. Don’t expect Cousins to pull this season out of the fire — the NFC is far too competitive and the Falcons are, well, far too off the pace. But it does give Atlanta a chance to see him justify their decision to keep Cousins. Just not in the way they would have hoped.

Kirk Cousins’ second-half of 2025 serves as his audition to the world as Falcons seek a taker for his services this offseason

Kirk Cousins has two years remaining on his contract with the Falcons. He’s owed $45M in compensation in 2026 — $10M of which is guaranteed in the form of a roster bonus. The big question for Atlanta is, can Kirk Cousins play well enough in the back-half of 2025 for a team to feel as though they’d justify taking on what’s left of his contract this offseason?

The financials are hefty for potential suitors. Atlanta could eat the $10M roster bonus and hold him past the payment deadline in mid-March, hoping to buy down his compensation and get a draft pick for a team taking on the rest of his $35M non-guaranteed salary.

$35M in compensation is about equal to what quarterbacks like Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, and Trevor Lawrence are receiving this year. It’s comfortably in the middle class of quarterbacks in the NFL and, if Cousins plays well for the rest of this season, he could get a quarterback-hungry team interested. That’s what the Falcons have to be hoping for, otherwise, they’ll be paying his $10M roster bonus and cutting him to avoid the rest of his compensation. Atlanta chose to keep Cousins this past offseason for his value as a backup and in the name of potentially moving him to a quarterback hungry team down the road. So in a way, this was all part of the plan. But they certainly hoped their backup quarterback value would come, if needed, to save a playoff run. And they surely didn’t envision Cousins’ audition to teams being set a year later as this season continues to circle the drain.

But here we are.

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