FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — For the third consecutive season, the Atlanta Falcons had an in-season switch at the quarterback position.
It was exactly what the Falcons wanted to avoid in 2024. They signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in hopes of doing so. And, for a while, Cousins lived up to Atlanta's win-now goal.
Cousins led the Falcons to a 6-3 start, the team’s best since 2016, with a 4-0 division record to lead the NFC South.
But then, Cousins sunk into a slump, and the team had a 1-4 stretch that put playoff hopes in jeopardy and prompted the change at quarterback with three games remaining.
"When a decision was made is when I felt like the team played really well outside of our quarterback position, and that's when I made the change," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said at his end-of-year press conference. "When you make that change, it's hard to say you regret it because you had a lot of confidence in the guy that was out there before, and we just were unable to get it done."
Enter rookie Michael Penix Jr.
The Falcons drafted Penix with the No. 8 overall pick and planned to sit him at least one full season, ideally two, given how Cousins' deal was structured. Cousins was supposed to be the Falcons' quarterback of the present; Penix, the future. Well, their timeline was accelerated out of necessity.
Penix closed out the season 1-2. That included a home win against the New York Giants in his starting debut and two overtime losses to the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.
Those three starts showed enough promise and potential to excite the Falcons, and their fan base, about a Penix-led offense in 2025.
"Realistically, the light at the end of the tunnel for us, despite how bad and poor we played on defense or anywhere, is the quarterback," Morris said after the Falcons' Week 18 loss. "The organization has a quarterback that is certainly bright, that is certainly our future, that certainly can go out and make any single play and play in any single game that you can play in."
Notable returners: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
Free agents: N/A
2024 production:
- Kirk Cousins: 14 starts, 14 appearances | 303 completions, 453 attempts (66.9%) | 3,508 passing yards | 16 interceptions, 18 touchdowns
- Michael Penix Jr.: 3 starts, 5 appearances | 61 completions, 105 attempts (58.1%) | 775 passing yards | 3 interceptions, 3 touchdowns
Biggest question facing the position group in 2025: What's going to happen with Kirk Cousins?
If the 36-year-old wants to remain in the NFL, there seems to be two possible options: He's either traded, or he remains in Atlanta. General manager Terry Fontenot made it clear last Thursday that the Falcons do not want to release Cousins. Any previous reports of such, Fontenot said, held no validity.
The trade route is tricky due to the no-trade clause in Cousins' contract that only he can waive. If he does, another team must show interest and be willing to negotiate with not only Cousins but also the Falcons. All three parties must come to an agreement on a deal, which could be difficult with differing wants and needs.
"There's a lot of layers to that, and we'll take those as they come," Fontenot said.
That's why the Falcons are prepared to keep Cousins. This outcome gets flagged externally because Cousins will be the highest-paid player on the roster despite falling behind Michael Penix Jr. on the depth chart. Atlanta, however, always knew what keeping Cousins in 2025 would cost — 14.4% of the Falcons’ cap space. That hasn't changed. Only his role has.
Sure, Cousins would make for an expensive backup. But the Falcons are then more than covered if Penix gets hurt. And if not, Cousins' experience can still benefit the quarterback room overall.
"I know Kirk's the backup now, but we planned to have that cap allocation at that position with him as the starter," Fontenot said. "Now, it's been flipped. … So, completely different situations, I would say, but we're comfortable where we are. Now, we have to make sure that we can be creative and find ways to build this team the right way."
The Falcons need to do that regardless of what happens with Cousins.
