Although quarterback Kirk Cousins was present for the start of the Falcons’ offseason workout program, he wasn’t around for the first OTA session. And that’s a good thing for the team.
The Falcons are trying to move forward with Michael Penix Jr. as the starting quarterback. Having Cousins around will only make things awkward.
Cousins’s decision to not show up for the voluntary session, which had nothing to do with it happening on a Tuesday, should have been no surprise. Last week (as noted by Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com) offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said Cousins has been present for only a “[handful](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45346331/kirk-cousins-not-present-start-falcons-otas)” of offseason sessions.
Cousins wants to move on. The Falcons want to move on. Cousins wanted to wait until after the draft to explore potential starting jobs, given the manner in which the rug was pulled out from under him in 2024. By delaying the decision-making, however, Cousins is largely out of options. Unless Aaron Rodgers doesn’t sign with the Steelers, there’s no current destination.
The best play is to wait. And the Falcons and Cousins should come to an agreement along those lines. Cousins stays home, gets paid, remains in shape, and both sides wait for a trade opportunity to emerge.
It’s no different than Carson Palmer in 2011, with the only difference being that Palmer wasn’t getting paid. Cousins will get his game checks in the amount of $1.52 million per week, the Falcons won’t have to worry about Cousins’s presence undermining Penix, and all it takes is one injury to a starting quarterback before the trade deadline and problem solved.
When a team suddenly loses a starter, it gets desperate. It starts looking for trade options. Most recently, when Cousins tore his Achilles tendon during the 2023 season, the Vikings searched high and low for a trade target in the two remaining days before the window closed. If someone like Cousins had been available, the Vikings would have tried to trade for him.
That’s the smart play, for both sides. Cousins stays home. Cousins gets paid. Cousins stays in shape. Cousins, and the Falcons, wait for someone to get injured between now and the Tuesday after Week 9.