Right after the Atlanta Falcons’ season ended Falcons’ General Manager Terry Fontenot told the media that the team was “very comfortable moving forward with him [Kirk Cousins] as a backup”.
Then, during Super Bowl week Cousins revealed on Good Morning Football that he suffered shoulder and elbow injuries in week 10 against the New Orleans Saints that he said affected his play when he originally claimed he was healthy when asked about his health during the regular season.
After those comments from Kirk it was believed by some that Fontenot and the Falcons’ would no longer feel “very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup”. However, earlier today the Falcons’ GM joined The Morning Shift and said the team’s stance on Cousins "hasn't changed".
“No it hasn’t changed, and just like with any player at any position or any decision we make we always have to look at all the circumstances, and do what’s absolute best for the Atlanta Falcons, but at this point that hasn’t changed.” Fontenot said.
Fontenot also doubled down and made it clear that the team was not aware of any other injuries Cousins had outside of when he showed up on the week 11 injury report heading into the Falcons’ matchup with the Denver Broncos.
Depending on the terms of the trade the Falcons could save some money by trading Kirk, but If they’re unable to trade the veteran QB the next best option for the team would be to just let him be the team’s backup quarterback.
Now, the optics of that won’t look great, but it’s a better option than the Falcons cutting him and saving no money while he goes and plays for another team, so it’s not surprising that despite what Cousins said during Super Bowl week Terry Fontenot and the Falcons are still “very comfortable” with Kirk being the teams’ backup quarterback in 2025.