The Atlanta Falcons officially benched quarterback Kirk Cousins 14 games into his four-year, $180 million contract and it sounds like the two sides will be parting when the season is over.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team is likely to cut Cousins in the offseason before he’s paid a $10 million roster bonus on March 17:
Cutting Cousins by March 17 would be costly for Atlanta but getting out of the contract was always going to be messy. He has a no-trade clause and there is simply no way he would waive it at this stage of his career.
Cousins will be 37 next year and if he continues to play, it will be on his terms. There are always teams looking for a veteran quarterback, however, Cousins can simply pick his team rather than doing the Falcons a favor by waiving his no-trade clause.
According to Schefter, Atlanta still hopes for a less expensive exit for Cousins, but that’s somewhat unrealistic given the circumstances.
The Falcons drafted Washington standout Michael Penix Jr. in the first round, which was a surprise to Cousins. Penix, who was considered one of the more pro-ready quarterback prospects in the class, will make his first NFL start this Sunday against the New York Giants.
Cousins passed for 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions over his 14 starts. After a promising 6-3 start to the season, Atlanta hit a four-game losing streak that was highlighted by a career-worst stretch from Cousins.
The veteran QB did not throw a single touchdown pass while throwing eight interceptions from Weeks 10-14. While the team bounced back in Week 15 with a 15-9 win over the Raiders, Cousins’ performance nearly cost Atlanta.
On Tuesday evening, head coach Raheem Morris benched Cousins for Penix with three games left in the season. Check out our breakdown of how much it would cost for the Falcons to move on from Cousins.
