The Atlanta Falcons have had a ton of bizarre moments throughout franchise history. Of course, surrendering a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots before losing in overtime in Super Bowl LI is the most notable. But the Falcons also lost a game that season on a pick-two—an interception returned on a two-point conversion. The team lost another game after accidentally scoring a touchdown in the final minute and dropped a wacky contest in London that ended with a delay of the game before a missed field goal, giving Atlanta’s opponent another chance to kick the game-winner.
While those moments were certainly wild, they weren’t nearly as confounding as the Falcons signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract last offseason and then selecting Michael Penix Jr.—a 24-year-old rookie quarterback—with the eighth pick in the NFL Draft.
Cousins and his camp were understandably perplexed. Why commit so much money to a player only to immediately draft his replacement? We may never know the answer, but after the Falcons just benched Cousins in favor of Penix, it could prove to be a VERY costly decision.
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$100 Million Flushed Down The Toilet
Kirk’s $180 million, four-year contract came with $100 million in guaranteed money. So why cut him and burn $100 million? Why not just make him ride the bench as the most expensive backup quarterback in NFL history? Well, because of how the deal was structured, the Falcons would avoid paying a $10 million roster bonus if Cousins is off the roster by March 17, 2025.
The ideal situation for the Falcons would be to trade Cousins to another team and, therefore, offload at least some of that $100 million to someone else. But what team would pick up that bill today?
The more likely scenario is that he’ll remain on the bench for the remainder of this season. Barring a Penix injury, Cousins will probably not see the field in a Falcons uniform again, and the team will release him before that March 17 deadline.
Assuming that happens, the Falcons will have paid Kirk Cousins around $100 million to play in just 14 games. During those 14 games, he threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He’s also fumbled six times.
Another layer to this is the Falcons are still in contention for the playoffs. Cousins’s play has just been so poor lately—one touchdown and nine interceptions over his past five games, four of which were losses—that the team felt Penix was the better option for the stretch run.
If Cousins winds up on another team next season, the Falcons will still have to foot the majority of his salary. Maybe Penix will prove to be the solution at quarterback, and the team can look back on this whole fiasco with a laugh someday.
For now, it’s another tough break for a franchise that has had plenty of them.