It’s not a bluff: The Atlanta Falcons are certainly transferring ahead with Kirk Cousins on their roster.
Two league sources aware of communications between Cousins and the Falcons reiterated to Yahoo Sports activities on Wednesday that the franchise will transfer ahead towards the NFL Draft with the veteran quarterback on their roster. This regardless of a $10 million 2026 roster bonus that may convert to completely assured if he’s not launched or traded earlier than Monday.
Sports activities Illustrated’s Albert Breer beforehand reported that Cousins requested and acquired a gathering with workforce proprietor Arthur Clean final week. A supply instructed Yahoo Sports activities on Wednesday that since that assembly, Cousins and the Falcons have proceeded with the expectation that he would stay on the workforce past the roster bonus deadline.
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After that time, the Falcons are anticipated to proceed forward with Cousins as their backup quarterback behind Michael Penix Jr. Nevertheless, a commerce possibility would nonetheless stay on the desk if a suitor for Cousins emerged and the quarterback was keen to waive his no-trade clause. If that doesn’t materialize, he would then play out the 2025 season as Penix’s backup whereas incomes $27.5 million in totally assured wage. After the 2025 season, the Falcons would then have the choice to chop Cousins and have the $10 million in 2026 assured cash topic to wage offsets. Basically, if any workforce paid Cousins greater than $10 million to play for them in 2026, the Falcons can be off the hook for the total quantity owed.
It’s an essential growth for the league’s quarterback market, largely as a result of a number of groups are in search of both a long-term reply or a bridge possibility on the place. That features the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, who’re each wanting so as to add not less than yet one more participant to their quarterback room — both by the draft or in free company.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants are additionally nonetheless making an attempt to resolve wants at quarterback, with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson each in play for these franchises.
With Cousins now anticipated to stay on the Falcons’ roster, any of these groups hoping to maintain him on the desk as an possibility will now should grapple with a commerce negotiation that would come with how a lot wage the Falcons would pay within the occasion they have been to ship Cousins to a different workforce.
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