The big news yesterday was the move Atlanta made at quarterback.
After a dismal four-game stretch, Kirk Cousins has been benched in favor of rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
The last 24 hours have been filled with cap calculations that range from waiving Cousins to trading him. If the Falcons release Cousins before the end of the league year, there’s a $65M cap hit. Only Russell Wilson ($85M) and Daniel Jones ($69.3M) have had larger cap hits.
Trading Cousins doesn’t get Atlanta off the hook. If Atlanta finds a suitable trade partner, there will be a $37.5M cap hit.
The question I have is ‘Why trade Cousins at all?”
Next season, Atlanta expects to be a playoff team. Even if Penix Jr. is the starter next season, the Falcons will need a veteran backup. Cousins fits that requirement whether he wants to be a starter or not. He’s under contract with the Falcons, and they are not obligated to move him.
Cousins is the perfect insurance policy just in case Penix Jr. shows he isn’t ready to be a full-time starter on a team with playoff expectations.
Atlanta’s front office knew this was realistic when they signed Cousins and drafted Penix Jr.
I would like to think that the front office had this conversation before they made the moves they made, so having Cousins’ contract on the books, even as a backup, should have been vetted.
Cousins is a veteran quarterback, and, at times, this is what happens to veterans. There’s no reason to think he will be an issue in the locker room, and if he is, the NFL has mechanisms that allow teams to address that. Remember, Robert Griffin III was asked to do the same thing in Washington for Cousins and was widely admonished when it appeared that he didn’t.
So, for Atlanta, this could be the perfect situation going into next season. They have their future quarterback and a more than capable veteran backup who can start at any time.
