NFL insider says Kirk Cousins' 'story isn't over' with Falcons QB

It’s still hard to believe that Kirk Cousins, who will make $27.5 million in 2025, will be a backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons this upcoming season.

This has been a mind-blowing concept for NFL fans to comprehend. How can a borderline starter like Cousins—who has tons of experience and seemingly some left in the tank—just be... sitting on the bench?

The Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft is how. There’s also the massive decline in Cousins’ performance late last season. And, last but not least, that bloated contract the Falcons signed him to before drafting Penix—one no team is likely willing to take on a large portion of.

Still, many keep asking, like SI’s Albert Breer in his latest mailbag, if Cousins will actually be the backup for the Falcons this season.

“I think that’s the most likely scenario at this point,” Breer wrote.

Breer did state, though, that there’s a particular reason why Cousins will end up staying in Atlanta. However, the right situation could change everything.

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“It feels, to me at least, like it’ll take a material change to someone else’s quarterback situation (be it by performance or injury) for Cousins to wind up on another team,” Breer added. “My understanding is that once camp starts, Cousins, whose family is now rooted in his wife’s home state of Georgia, might not just waive his no-trade clause to start anywhere—it may take the right situation for him to go.

“I wouldn’t say this story is over. But we are well into the back half of the book.”

Even though Cousins missed the Falcons’ OTAs, he participated in the team’s mandatory minicamp. During that, he all but ceded the starting job to Penix.

MORE: Former Rookie of the Year predicts Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. will be NFL's breakout QB of the Year

“Michael is going to do great,” Cousins said, per the team site. “He is going to have a great career. He is off to a great start, and he has all of the tangibles and intangibles that you need to be successful. I am just here to support him as he needs it. But, I also don't need to be in his ear so much that I am another weight, another voice. I just want to be able to support as I can, and he knows that.”

Again, there’s still a long way to go before the start of the season—much less the trade deadline on Nov. 4. While Cousins looks like he’ll have at least one more season in Atlanta, there could always be a major injury elsewhere that changes all that.