NFL Insider Says It’s ‘Not an Overreaction’ Kirk Cousins ​​Is a One-and-Done in Atlanta

After six years in purple, Kirk Cousins ​​left Minnesota for a new four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons this summer. On paper, Atlanta appears to be locked into the Cousins ​​train for at least several seasons, but that may not be the case.

Despite signing Cousins ​​a monstrous contract a month and a half earlier, the Falcons selected former Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft. Selecting a quarterback so high in the draft seemed to indicate that Cousins’ stay in Atlanta would be short-lived. ESPN’s Dan Graziano said Thursday that it could be as short as one season.

“With NFL rookie contracts lasting up to five years, the Falcons are going to be under pressure to move Penix at some point sooner than Cousins ​​would like,” Graziano wrote in a piece examining the offseason overreactions.

While it’s unlikely that Cousins ​​will be traded to an offensive player, given the high salary cap the Falcons are expected to pay ($65 million next season), a trade could be possible but still costly. If the Falcons traded Cousins, they would be left with a $37.5 million loss after paying him $62.5 million for the 2024 season.

While that’s still a lot of money, Graziano stressed that the cost is “not prohibitive” if Atlanta believes it has found its quarterback of the future in Penix.