Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Tabbed for backup role in 2025
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Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said Thursday that Cousins will head into the 2025 season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Penix, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. "Kirk is a great man and he's been great support for Mike, a great teammate, great support for everybody in the building, so we're very confident moving forward with him as the backup," Fontenot said.
Shortly after the Falcons benched Cousins in favor of Penix in Week 16, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the expectation in league circles was that Atlanta would cut Cousins before March 17, when the 36-year-old quarterback is due a $10 million roster bonus. Fontenot pushed back on that report during his press conference Thursday, noting that Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal last March with the expectation that they would "get high-level quarterback play for two seasons." That didn't come to fruition, as Cousins completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns while committing 18 turnovers (16 interceptions, two lost fumbles) in 14 starts before Atlanta turned the offense over to the rookie Penix. While Fontenot acknowledged that Cousins didn't perform as well as anticipated, the GM reiterated that the Falcons are comfortable with him as a backup heading into the upcoming season, though that won't preclude the organization from trading him if the right deal emerges. Atlanta would almost certainly have to absorb some of the $27.5 million on Cousins' base salary for 2025 to facilitate any trade.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Expected to be cut in offseason
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Cousins is expected to be cut by the Falcons before his $10 million roster bonus is due March 17, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.
Cousins has been demoted to the backup role behind rookie first-round pick Michael Penix ahead of Atlanta's Week 16 game against the Giants. The veteran quarterback lost his starting role after posting a 1:9 TD:INT in his last five starts. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons prior to the 2024 season, but Atlanta appears ready to move forward with Penix while eating the remainder of Cousins' $100 million guarantee.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Will work as backup
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Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday that Cousins will serve as the team's No. 2 quarterback behind rookie Michael Penix in Sunday's game against the Giants, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
On Tuesday, Morris announced that Penix would take over as Atlanta's starter, but it wasn't immediately known if Cousins would serve as his direct backup, or if the Falcons would elevate Nathan Peterman from the practice squad to handle those duties. Rather than making Cousins a healthy inactive, Atlanta will continue to have the veteran signal-caller suit up on game days, even though the Falcons are now turning the offense over to the rookie first-round pick. Cousins' long-term future in Atlanta is another matter, as the 36-year-old is being benched just 14 games into the four-year, $180 million contract he inked with the Falcons this offseason. Through those 14 appearances, Cousins has completed 303 of 453 pass attempts (67 percent) for 3,508 yards, 16 touchdowns and a league-high 16 interceptions. Nine of those interceptions came over Cousins' most recent five starts, during which he threw for just one touchdown.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Loses starting QB job
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Head coach Raheem Morris announced Tuesday that Cousins has been removed as the team's starting quarterback in favor of Michael Penix, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports. "After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward," Morris said in a statement. "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."
Cousins struggled over the Falcons' past five games, posting a 1:9 TD:INT while the team went 1-4. Though the squad snapped a four-game losing streak Monday against the Raiders, Cousins didn't do well, completing 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Morris was non-committal about the veteran quarterback continuing to start under center for the squad earlier Tuesday, and the Falcons later made the announcement that Penix will be taking over as the team's starting signal-caller. It's unclear what Cousins' future in Atlanta will look like beyond 2024 after he signed a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason. Cousins is fully guaranteed $27.5 million in 2025, and he carries a cap hit of $40 million for next season.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Pedestrian numbers in win
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Cousins completed 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards with a touchdown and an interception and netted no gain on three rush attempts in the Falcons' 15-9 win over the Raiders on Monday night. He also committed a fumble but recovered.
Cousins' numbers were hardly of the redemptive variety after a four-game stretch that may have had his starting job in danger, but the veteran signal-caller at least snapped his four-game touchdown drought with a 30-yard first-quarter scoring strike to Drake London. Cousins ultimately wasn't tasked with doing much more against an inept Raiders offense helmed by Desmond Ridder, leading to his lowest passing yardage total of the campaign. Cousins may enjoy a similar game script in a Week 16 home matchup against the lowly Giants, who also should pose very little threat.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Team not considering QB change
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Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Monday that Cousins remains Atlanta's starting quarterback heading into a road matchup against the Raiders on Dec. 16, Terrin Waack of the Falcons' official site reports.
Morris said Cousins "is the guy who is going to lead us" heading into a primetime matchup against Las Vegas next Monday, reaffirming the notion that Atlanta still isn't considering giving rookie first-round pick Michael Penix even a spot start. Still, the Falcons now have lost four consecutive games, during which Cousins has thrown eight interceptions without a single touchdown. If Atlanta's passing game were to notably struggle once again in Week 15, Morris' commitment to Cousins could waver.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: QBs to Sit
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I usually love revenge games, but it's hard to trust Cousins in his return to Minnesota in Week 14. Cousins hasn't thrown a touchdown since Week 9 and has six interceptions in his past three games against New Orleans, Denver, and the Chargers. If he continues to struggle, he could get benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr., and the Vikings have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 17.2 Fantasy points in their past five games. Cousins is only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: QBs to Sit
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Cousins has four games all season with more than 20 Fantasy points, and two of them came against Tampa Bay. He hasn't accounted for a touchdown in his past two games, and he has combined for 15.1 Fantasy points over that span against the Saints and Broncos. Now, the Chargers have struggled lately against Will Levis, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson, who each scored at least 23.1 Fantasy points in the past three games. But most of the quarterbacks who have done well against the Chargers this season have done so with their legs, and Cousins isn't going to help himself in that area. He's only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: TD drought hits two games
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Cousins completed 18 of 27 passes for 173 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 38-6 loss to the Broncos. He also rushed once for no gain.
Cousins struggled as the Falcons posted a poor performance across the board before waving the white flag by inserting backup quarterback Michael Penix down 38-6 in the fourth quarter. The bigger long-term concern for Cousins could be the status of wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who exited in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury, though Atlanta's Week 12 bye could provide an opportunity for the team's leader in receiving yards to recover prior to a Week 13 home game against the Chargers. Cousins will look to bounce back post-bye after being held without a touchdown pass in each of the past two games.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Only one quarterback this season has scored at least 20 Fantasy points against the Broncos this season, and that was Lamar Jackson in Week 9. Otherwise the Broncos have limited Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes to 19.8 Fantasy points or less, and I expect Cousins to be in a similar range on the road. Keep in mind that Cousins only has four games this season with more than 20 Fantasy points, and two of them were against Tampa Bay. Given the matchup, I would only start Cousins in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 11.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Listed with pair of injuries
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Cousins was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to right shoulder and elbow injuries, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Cousins apparently came out of Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Saints with a pair of injuries to his throwing arm. His participation in practice to start the week, even in a limited capacity, suggests he'll likely play this Sunday at Denver in the final game before Atlanta's bye.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Tops 300 yards in Sunday's loss
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Cousins completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards with an interception in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Saints.
An uncharacteristically awful day for Younghoe Koo cost the Falcons a win, but Cousins also struggled to get the ball into the end zone, failing to throw a TD pass for the first time since Week 4 -- the last time he faced the Saints. The veteran QB's 306 passing yards were his second-highest total of the season, however, behind only his mammoth 509-yard effort in Week 5 against the Bucs. Cousins will look to rebound on the road in Week 11, but he'll be facing another stingy secondary in the Broncos.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: QBs to Start
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Two quarterbacks in the past four games against the Saints have scored at least 28.1 Fantasy points, and New Orleans just traded its best cornerback in Marshon Lattimore, to Washington on Tuesday. Cousins has scored at least 23.8 Fantasy points in each of his past two games, and he should stay hot this week on the road. He has top-five upside heading into Week 10.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Top DFS Play
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The Saints defense has really struggled lately, giving up at least 23 points to each of their last six opponents and 26 or more to everyone but the Panthers. Cousins has been awesome when he's been protected and I don't see the current Saints defense as a unit that can make him uncomfortable.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Punishes Buccaneers again Sunday
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Cousins completed 23 of 29 passes for 276 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed three times for 16 yards in the Falcons' 31-26 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. He also committed a fumble that went out of the end zone for a safety.
Cousins had burned the Buccaneers for four scoring tosses during a memorable overtime victory in Week 5, but with Tampa Bay down both Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (IR-knee) on Sunday, the veteran signal-caller wasn't expected to have to be overly aggressive through the air. No one informed the feisty Buccaneers, which kept Cousins engaged through the air for all four quarters and facilitated another stellar performance in the process. Cousins connected with Kyle Pitts for touchdown tosses of 36 and 49 yards before adding 30- and six-yard scoring strikes to Darnell Mooney and Bijan Robinson, respectively. The veteran signal-caller has at least one touchdown pass in four straight games, and he next takes aim at the Cowboys' inconsistent defense in a Week 9 home matchup.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Stymied by Seahawks in loss
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Cousins completed 24 of 35 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and rushed once for minus-1 yard in the Falcons' 34-14 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday. He also lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
Cousins' trio of turnovers certainly had a part to play in the surprisingly lopsided loss, as he handed the ball to the Seahawks on three consecutive second-half possessions. The miscues netted a total of 10 points for Seattle, and both picks also short-circuited drives in Seahawks territory. Cousins' one scoring pass went to Drake London midway through the third quarter from five yards out, and the veteran signal-caller will have to quickly regroup considering a Week 8 road divisional clash against the Buccaneers now is on tap.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Efficient in victory Sunday
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Cousins completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 225 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over in Sunday's 38-20 win over the Panthers.
Cousins cruised to victory on the back of impressive rushing performances from Bijan Robinson (15-95-2) and Tyler Allgeier (18-105-1). The Falcons' starting quarterback still produced an efficient passing line with no turnovers for fantasy managers, but this was certainly a step down from Cousins' career day against the Buccaneers in Week 5. The veteran is still worthy of starting considerations in most formats ahead of next Sunday's tilt against Seattle.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: QBs to Start
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Something clearly clicked for Cousins in Week 5 against Tampa Bay since he passed for 509 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, and he scored 42.4 Fantasy points. He said after the game that he's feeling closer to 100 percent from last year's Achilles injury, and hopefully more big games are coming, including this week at Carolina. The Panthers are No. 6 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and only Justin Herbert in Week 2 failed to score at least 20.3 Fantasy points against Carolina this year. Cousins should once again be considered a top-10 quarterback in all leagues.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: QBs to Sit
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The Saints defense has been tough on opposing quarterbacks so far this season, and in the past two weeks, New Orleans has held Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts to a combined one touchdown and three interceptions. Now, that duo passed for a combined 604 yards, but neither scored more than 15 Fantasy points. Cousins has topped 15 Fantasy points just once this year, and he's not worth trusting in this matchup in anything more than Superflex and two-quarterback leagues.
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Falcons' Kirk Cousins: Medically cleared for camp
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Cousins (Achilles) is medically cleared for training camp but could have some "modifications" to his workload, William McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.
In other words, Cousins might not get as many reps as a starting quarterback typically would even though he doesn't have any limitations in terms of the types of activities he can do. The Falcons have two good options to handle first-team QB reps when Cousins is rested, as they still have Taylor Heinicke and drafted Michael Penix eighth overall. The latter development could make things rather interesting in Atlanta if Cousins doesn't look like his Minnesota self in his age-36 season ahead. The Falcons were undeterred by the Achilles' tear he suffered late last October, giving Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract with half the money guaranteed at signing.
