Falcons GM Terry Fontenot claims team ‘very comfortable’ with Kirk Cousins as backup in 2025

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has no problem having Kirk Cousins as a backup quarterback in 2025. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Fontenot talked about Cousins’ future with the team after being benched late in the 2024 season.

“We’re very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup,” Fontenot said. “He’s handled himself extremely well through the entire process from start to finish from when he came in the building. In these adverse situations, that is when you show your true character.

Here is Falcons GM Terry Fontenot saying he’s perfectly comfortable with Kirk Cousins being a $100-million backup QB in ‘25

$100-million… not playing a single down pic.twitter.com/VbXiDZhBsF

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) January 9, 2025

“Kirk is a great man and he’s been a great teammate, great support for everybody in the building. We’re very comfortable going forward with him as the backup.

Cousins was the Falcons’ starter for the first 14 games of the 2024 season and finished with 3,508 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and an NFL-leading 16 interceptions. He was benched for Michael Penix Jr. after the Falcons’ Week 15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders because he threw one touchdown and nine interceptions in his last five games.

Will Kirk Cousins be the Falcons’ backup QB in 2025?

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In March, Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons, and $100 million is guaranteed. In 2025, Cousins will have a base salary of $27.5 million with a $40 million cap hit. Cousins will get $10 million guaranteed if he is on the roster five days into the new league year.

Ultimately, the plan was for Cousins to be the starter for another year, but his lack of production at the end of the 2024 season and Penix looking strong in his three starts changed things for the franchise. Cousins has a no-trade clause in his contract.

The interesting thing about this is while Fontenot is ready to bring Cousins back next season, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris indicated to reporters that Cousins’ future is not very clear.

“Kirk left (Monday), gave me a hug and said he’d talk to me soon,” Morris said, per AtlantaFalcons.com. “We will make some of those decisions with him. You just never know. That’s the process we will go through now.”

No matter what happens with Cousins, the Falcons may have found their franchise QB in Penix. In five games with three starts, Penix completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions with a 78.9 passer rating.