Here are the Falcons’ cap ramifications regarding Kirk Cousins

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Kirk Cousins ​​stood at the podium inside the press room at the Atlanta Falcons facility Wednesday afternoon, about 24 hours after being told by head coach Raheem Morris that he would no longer be the team’s starting quarterback.

Morris announced Tuesday that it would be rookie Michael Penix Jr. as the team’s no. 1 QB “moving forward.” Cousins ​​had thrown nine interceptions over five games against just one touchdown pass. The Falcons went 1-4 during that stretch, going from first place in the NFC South to a 7-7 record and barely making the playoffs.

Cousins, who has thrown a league-leading 16 picks, faced the media and was asked, among other things, whether he still saw himself as a starter in the NFL.

“I didn’t forget how to play quarterback,” Cousins ​​said. “Of course the turnover was not what you want, but I did not forget how to play.”

Cousins, 36, likely won’t be No. 1 in Atlanta again, though Penix has yet to start a game and anything is possible. Penix, which the team took as no. 8 overall in the NFL draft back in April, will get the ball Sunday against the New York Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox).

For the remaining three weeks of the season, Cousins ​​said he will offer his support to Penix and the team. After that, things are very up in the air, and the chances of the 13-year veteran returning to the Falcons as a backup seem small.

Cousins, who has a no-trade clause, will have an impact on his future, as will the Atlanta front office. These decisions, as they almost always are, will be at least partially financially driven. Cousins ​​signed a four-year, $180 million deal last offseason, and about $100 million of that is guaranteed.

The Falcons could cut Cousins. If they do so before the start of the 2025 league year (March 12), they would be hit with $65 million in dead money coming from his fully guaranteed base salary of $27.5 million and $37.5 million in remaining proportionately, per Roster Management System. If they do so with a post-June 1 designation, the dead money would be spread over the 2025 and 2026 seasons — $40 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026.

A trade would be another option if Cousins ​​gives the go-ahead. Cousins ​​played well earlier this season and could be attractive to teams that believe he will be better in 2025, two years after surgery to repair a torn right Achilles. He has a track record as a quality quarterback for more than a decade, which is why Atlanta signed him to such a lucrative contract back in March.

If the Falcons traded Cousins, they would be on the hook for the $37.5 million in remaining proration, while his fully guaranteed $27.5 million in base salary would carry over to his new team. There is also a likelihood that Atlanta will have to eat some of the $27.5 million in a deal.

Cousins ​​also has a $10 million roster bonus for 2026, which would become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2025 league year.

Cousins ​​will earn his guaranteed amount — regardless of where he ends up — and odds are the Falcons will be dealing with how his contract affects their salary cap for the foreseeable future.

Atlanta general manager Terry Fontenot has done a nice job of getting the franchise out of salary cap purgatory over the last three seasons. He’ll have to get creative now that the team’s big-money signing isn’t working out as hoped.

As for Cousins, he worked out Thursday with the Falcons scout team in practice, and Morris said Cousins ​​told him he plans to be the best No. 2 quarterback in the league over the remaining three weeks (or longer if the Falcons sneak into the playoffs). ).

What happens next seems very unlikely.

“You’re kind of one day at a time right now, and you’re kind of always in this league,” Cousins ​​said, “and in the offseason, that’s when conversations happen, but we’re not there yet.”