Kirk Cousins being with Atlanta Falcons in 2025 would be a 'surprise,' per Adam Schefter

Adam Schefter doesn’t believe Kirk Cousins will be with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025. While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, the ESPN NFL insider shared his thoughts on Cousins after Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said they plan to keep the veteran quarterback on the roster.

“I’d be surprised if Kirk Cousins is in Atlanta this season, however it plays out,” Schefter said. “I just don’t see it that way, but if they want to pay their backup quarterback more money and sink another $10 million in guarantee money into him, then I guess he can be there.”

Adam Schefter then talked about why the Falcons have to release him soon. “He’s got a no-trade clause. He could veto every trade,” Schefter explained. “I think the Falcons are going to have to release him. If and when he is released, you would hope it would be sooner rather than later, while there are quarterback chairs. They don’t owe him anything, but they could do it later and then he doesn’t have an ideal landing spot. The sooner they let him go, the more options he would have. The Falcons already are paying his salary. A team like the Browns makes sense because they’ve got other financial commitments and obligations. He’s got a relationship with Kevin Stefanski.”

Why the Falcons want to keep Kirk Cousins

The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract last year. He got off to a strong start in 2024, leading the team to a 6-3 record after nine games. But Cousins then lost the next four starts before leading the Falcons to an unimpressive 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. In those five games, Cousins threw one touchdown and nine interceptions, leading to the Falcons benching him and going with Michael Penix Jr. as their starting QB.

Earlier this month, Kirk Cousins appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football and admitted to being injured during the 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 10 and never fully recovered. The Falcons said they were not aware of Cousins’ injuries.

On Tuesday, Terry Fontenot told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine that they are comfortable having Kirk Cousins as their backup despite him having a guaranteed salary of $27.5 million for the 2025 season. “Kirk handled that really well at the end of the season,” Fontenot said, per Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, Kirk’s a really talented player, he’s a great man, all those things. Again, he handled that role well at the end of the season.”