Kirk Cousins is still an Atlanta Falcon and that now means the veteran quarterback is guaranteed a $10 million-dollar roster bonus that’ll be due in 2026, and while the Falcons are on the hook for that $10 million-dollars now there is subject to offset language, meaning whoever is paying him next year will pick up Atlanta’s tab for part or all of the guarantee. This deadline might cost Atlanta nothing in the end, so that’s one reason why it’s worth holding on to Cousins, and continuing to explore trade options for him.
Another reason it’s smart for the Falcons to hold on to Kirk is because as the season gets closer and teams’ needs for a quarterback increase due to different reasons the value of the Falcons’ current backup quarterback will only go up, and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback and now analyst for the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network Dave Archer joined The Morning Shift earlier today and elaborated on that very point.
“It behooves Atlanta to hang on to him right now, not because you think he’s gonna be your backup during the year, which he very well could be and he might be the best one there is in the league, but you're also in a situation where the value begins to ramp up on him.” Dave said
Archer continued by saying “You know as well as I do there are teams that are still trying to solidify their quarterback position, some that don’t even have a quarterback, or are not sure who their quarterback is going to be, and we also know as we get closer to the season those kind of stories begin to change, and who is that guy out there that you could potentially go get, and so that ramps up the value for the Falcons in that regard.”
Despite the Kirk Cousins signing not working out Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot has done a good job of keeping his stance on Kirk Cousins consistent ever since the season ended, and now just like Dave Archer said the longer Cousins remains with the Falcons the more it’ll show other teams that the Falcons are truly serious about keeping him unless there’s a good trade offer made, and as the season gets closer and teams’ needs for a quarterback increase the value of Kirk Cousins will only go up, and the Falcons might actually get something back for Kirk Cousins when that originally looked like the most unlikely scenario going into the offseason.
