FLOWERY BRANCH -- By keeping quarterback Kirk Cousins on the Falcons roster through Saturday, his $10 million roster bonus has become fully guaranteed, according to multiple reports.
The payment was due before March 17, the fifth day of the start of the new league business year. The Falcons have repeatedly expressed their plans to retain Cousins, who lost his starting job last season, on the roster as the backup quarterback.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million.
Both the team and player have wound up in a messy situation.
The Falcons benched Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr., their surprise pick at No. 8 overall who’s now their quarterback moving forward.
It’s been a failed marriage from the start, from tampering penalties, to Cousins being frustrated by the Penix pick, to Cousins playing poorly through injury, to Cousins being benched. This wasn’t what the parties envisioned last March.
Cousins, who turns 37 in August, now wants the opportunity to start elsewhere. He reportedly met with Falcons owner Arthur Blank to express that desire. But that doesn’t mean the Falcons will oblige. If the Falcons want to get something for Cousins in a trade, they might have to wait to make a move.
Cousins has a $27.5 million guaranteed salary and $40 million salary-cap hit, but outsiders are led to believe it’s an inevitable divorce.
The Falcons have maintained they’ll do what’s best for them, and that option includes retaining Cousins as a backup.
The deadline did not force the Falcons to release the veteran quarterback.
Cousins has a no-trade clause, but it’s hard to see a team acquiring him via trade.
The Cousins situation is comparable to the Broncos releasing Russell Wilson and him signing with Pittsburgh for the minimum last offseason. The Broncos saved only $1.21 million — the deal Wilson signed with the Steelers - of the $39 million they owed him.
Penix’s early play was encouraging, there’s still benefit to a veteran backup.
Cousins provides insurance for Penix because of injury — he had a list of those during his lengthy college career — or if he needs a mental reset.
Cousins already has a rapport with Penix and, by the latter’s admission, greatly helped him during his rookie campaign.
Cousins would be expected to be professional and continue serving his role if the Falcons kept him. He’d still be among the NFL’s better backups, and that could loom large in a division that’s generally viewed as winnable.
Another reason for keeping him: Circumstances change. Something could change after the season starts, such as if a quarterback goes down with an injury and acquiring Cousins becomes a logical stopgap. He’d presumably be a better option than other trade candidates or free agents.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was Cousins’ quarterback coach in Minnesota. Numerous reports out of Cleveland have linked the Browns to Cousins.
The other free-agent quarterbacks available include Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Mac Jones, Trey Lance, Drew Lock, Marcus Mariota and Cooper Rush. Quarterback-needy teams likely would view Cousins as superior to the remaining free agents, especially if he’d sign a minimum deal as a free agent.
-- AJC staff writer Gabriel Burns contributed to this report.
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