Would it be so bad if the Falcons held onto Kirk Cousins?

It leads one to wonder what was in those notes Blank passed along to general manager Terry Fontenot or others from his hourlong phone conversation with his rankled quarterback?

We can only imagine.

“Kirk says he would like to be released – LOLOLOL.”

“Kirk appreciative of opportunity and contract from Falcons but wants to have a chance to start. Stopped listening for a while.”

“Kirk says he is open to a trade. Note to self: Have Terry check interest level of Saskatchewan Roughriders.”

“Or is it Rough Riders? I always forget.”

The Falcons-Cousins standoff continued amid the opulent surroundings at the Breakers, where the least expensive room goes for $1,490. In an effort to be conscientious of the AJC travel budget, I limited my stay to two nights.

The meeting’s media horde created quite the juxtaposition at this moneyed playground — pampered millionaire guests sharing the sun-splashed courtyard with frumpy sports writers pecking away at their laptops, nerdy lanyards hanging around their necks.

Back to the Cousins-Falcons stalemate. Coach Raheem Morris did his part, continuing to insist that the plan is to have Cousins be QB2 to Michael Penix Jr.’s QB1.

“We still feel very strongly about Kirk being our backup quarterback,” Morris said. “We still feel very strongly about the human, still feel very strongly about where he stands right now.”

Blank was working from his own set of talking points.

“I think at the end of the day, what happens will happen,” Blank said. “Maybe something pre-draft, draft, post-draft. I don’t know.”

When he was asked if he would be comfortable with Cousins as his backup, Blank said he would, though he was degrees less enthusiastic than his coach.

“That’s certainly an option,” he said. “We’ll have to see.”

“We’ll have to see” — every kid who has ever begged for a puppy knows what that means.

Who knows what will happen with Cousins?

It wouldn’t be surprising if he were simply let go. Recognizing that their bid to recoup any sort of value for Cousins through a trade wouldn’t be fruitful, the Falcons could give in and set Cousins free.

It appears a trade to Cleveland — which would appear the lone remaining logical destination for Cousins if he wants to start — may not happen. Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reported earlier this week that “a Cousins trade appears unlikely at this point” and that the quarterback’s visit to Cleveland last week had nothing to do with the Browns.

The likelihood could increase if the Browns don’t take a quarterback in the coming draft.

But a thought: If the Falcons can’t trade Cousins, would it be the worst thing if they actually kept him?

There is the potential for awkwardness and dissension. Morris went ahead and assured that Cousins will not be at the team’s voluntary workouts because why would a player who has been paid $100 million for 14 games played do anything more than what he’s contractually obligated to do?

He played poorly enough to lose his job and also hid an injury — that would seem contribution enough.

It’s not like he’s a team captain or anything.

Oh, wait. He actually was a captain last year.

The easy conclusion is that, when he did show up, Cousins would be a malcontent and try to make things so miserable for everyone that the Falcons would have to release him. But let’s assume that Cousins actually would cooperate and support Penix.

Morris asserted that Cousins would be professional about it, though no one ever has accused Morris of lacking optimism.

“Kirk’s got too much respect for the game, too much respect for Michael and that (quarterback group) and his coaches that he’s just not that type of guy (to cause trouble),” he said.

And Cousins, who has built a reputation as a likable, hardworking teammate and leader, presumably wouldn’t want to tarnish that image.

Cousins as backup might be a distraction at first, but it wouldn’t last so long as Penix did his job.

The first potential benefit of keeping Cousins is that, by holding onto him, he could become a more tradable asset in the event a starting quarterback suffers a long-term injury in the preseason or early on in the regular season.

But the possibility of the Falcons having a viable backup quarterback also would hold real value. Chances are Penix won’t start all 17 games. Since the NFL went to a 17-game schedule in 2021, an average of 10.5 quarterbacks — about a third — have started all 17 games. Penix also does have an injury history.

Further, chances are that if the Falcons were to get in the chase for a playoff spot, they wouldn’t have much margin. And if they were to need a backup to go win a game for them, assuming he can be his pre-injury self, there literally might not be a better option on the planet than Cousins, given his experience with the offense and its pieces.

And if Cousins wanted to demonstrate to quarterback-needy teams that he remains an effective starting quarterback and not the guy who threw one touchdown pass and nine interceptions in his final five games last season, it would be a useful audition.

And what if Penix actually isn’t the rising star he’s believed to be? Wouldn’t it be worth it to give Cousins a second chance?

His salary is money that the Falcons have spent already anyway. So why not use it to potentially help obtain the playoff berth the Falcons desperately need?

Any chance that was in Blank’s notes?