The Atlanta Falcons are nonetheless holding out hope that they may have the ability to commerce Kirk Cousins in some unspecified time in the future, they usually might have one ultimate alternative to take action subsequent month.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180M take care of the Falcons final offseason. The veteran quarterback was due a $10M roster bonus on Saturday, and Atlanta selected to pay Cousins the cash slightly than launch him. That’s as a result of the aim is to commerce Cousins and have one other workforce tackle at the least a few of the 36-year-old’s contract, which runs through 2027.
Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports activities spoke with a present NFL normal supervisor on Wednesday who mentioned the Falcons “simply cannot” preserve Cousins. When requested how possible it’s that Atlanta will discover a commerce accomplice, the GM mentioned the final opportunity could come after the NFL Draft.
“Perhaps (Falcons GM Terry Fontenot) can get a workforce that misses out on a QB to chunk earlier than and even after the draft,” the GM informed Schultz. “That is his finest shot — hoping somebody continues to be with no quarterback when the music stops. However they’re calling everybody proper now that can hear.”
Holding Cousins by means of Saturday was really cheaper for the Falcons, though they needed to pay a $10M bonus. If Cousins had been launched as a pre-June 1 minimize, Atlanta would take in a $65M useless cap hit. That’s a part of the rationale the workforce is so determined to commerce Cousins slightly than simply reducing him free.
Cousins misplaced his job to Michael Penix Jr. halfway by means of final season. The Falcons might merely preserve him and have top-of-the-line backups within the NFL, however Cousins would undoubtedly favor a chance to begin elsewhere. Maybe a team that has been linked to Cousins will turn out to be determined sufficient for quarterback assist after the draft.
Cousins completed with 3,508 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions final season. He’s a four-time Professional Bowl choice and has a ton of expertise, however his contract is considered as extremely prohibitive.
