The Atlanta Falcons are in a tight race during the final weeks of the regular season. Atlanta is 7-7 heading into Week 16 and is in a tight race with Tampa Bay for the NFC South division title. The Falcons have to keep winning during the final three weeks of the regular season to have a chance at a playoff berth in the NFC.
The Falcons will have to win those games with rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. as their new starter. Atlanta announced earlier this week that Kirk Cousins in benched in favor of the rookie.
But what will the Falcons deal with this situation after the 2024 season? Atlanta has a number of different options for dealing with the Kirk Cousins situation this offseason. NFL insider Ian Rapoport laid out a number of possibilities in a recent article on NFL.com.
One option Rapoport mentioned was the Falcons keeping Cousins as the backup for Michael Penix Jr.
"Cousins has been a model teammate in the building, especially this week. He's sat in the same seat in team meetings and has remained a leader. He has helped mentor Penix and this week upon a demotion, ran the scout team. That could pave the way to them keeping him as a backup -- since they have already paid him, anyway," Rapoport argued.
This theory does conflict with reporting from Adam Schefter this week that suggests the Falcons will cut Kirk Cousins before March 17th. This would save the Falcons from paying Cousins a $10 million bonus.
Would Kirk Cousins becoming a backup QB work for him and the Falcons in 2025?
On the surface, this is obviously the easiest option for the Falcons to move forward with. This is largely because it requires them to make no changes this offseason.
However, not everyone is convinced that this plan would actually work out.
ESPN's Marc Raimondi believes that Cousins will be a supportive mentor for the remainder of the 2024 season. He does not think that grace would carry over into next season.
"For the remaining three weeks of the season, Cousins said he'll offer his support to Penix and the team. After that, things are very much up in the air, and the chances the 13-year veteran returns to the Falcons as a backup seem slim," Raimondi said Friday.
Cousins has not been known to be a dramatic quarterback earlier in this career. That said, he's never found himself in this situation before.
It will be interesting to see how the Falcons approach the upcoming offseason. Whichever decision they make about Kirk Cousins will likely be the first domino to fall.