The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal that could be worth $180-million if Cousins played all four seasons. If the Falcons were forced to part ways with the quarterback they would owe Cousins $90-million. That is the position that the Falcons now find themselves in after Cousins was unable to keep his starting job through the end of the season. Raheem Morris made the move to the rookie quarterback leaving Cousins on the bench and looking for his new landing spot.
After the Falcons benched Kirk Cousins the veteran quarterback lost all of his value. There is no reason for a team to entertain a trade when they can add Cousins for far cheaper. Teams with interest in Cousins will simply wait for Atlanta to make the obvious move and drop Kirk Cousins.
Kirk Cousins will be released in 2025 and follow the path of Russell Wilson
There isn't a market for a quarterback who has a bonus due in March that will force Atlanta to release him beforehand. Give the quarterback credit for wins over the Eagles and Bucs, however, the signing was still a complete bust for the Falcons. Cousins is going to be released with any interested team simply needing to be patient to sign the veteran for next to nothing while the Falcons pay the bill.
Exactly as the Broncos did with Russell Wilson only to pay the starter while he was given a chance to lead the Steelers to the playoffs. Atlanta is stuck paying Cousins and there isn't a possible trade out there that will change this.
As painful as this is from Atlanta's perspective they can take solace in the fact that they do have their quarterback of the future. The downside is the fact they will be paying top dollar for the position wasting the bulk of Penix's contract due to the signing of Kirk Cousins. A move that will quickly go down as one of the worst in franchise history.