Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins expected at mandatory minicamp
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Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins expected at mandatory minicamp
On Tuesday, June 10th, the Atlanta Falcons begin their first mandatory minicamp. Previous OTAs were voluntary, but if a player is absent tomorrow, it will start costing them money.
The big question is always about quarterback Kirk Cousins. Will he show up? Will he stay away? According to Dianna Roussini of The Athletic, Cousins will be there.
“The Falcons expect Kirk Cousins to show up for Atlanta’s mandatory minicamp tomorrow, sources say,” Roussini tweets on X. “Cousins did not attend the team’s voluntary OTAs in late May, but was present for workouts in April. His preference is still to be traded to a team where he could start.”
The Falcons were unable to move him over the weekend of the 2025 NFL Draft, a time when many of these moves get made. They’ve also made it sound like they are fine keeping Cousins as a backup this year, which no one really believes. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal before the 2024 season and the contract includes a full no-trade clause, meaning he’d have to approve any trade.
The Falcons would prefer he didn’t show up
It doesn’t matter what they say publicly, the Falcons don’t want any parts of Cousins at offseason practices. If he does indeed show up (and he probably will because it would cost him money otherwise), it’s unlikely that he’ll actually be on the field practicing. That is, if the Falcons get their way.
Cousins showed up to voluntary workouts in April, to the surprise of many. The Falcons tried to make it sound like a good thing that he showed up, but anyone that follows the NFL knows that they don’t want him around at all.
“I wouldn’t say a surprise,” General manager Terry Fontenot said at the time. “This is a voluntary thing. Whether a player comes or doesn’t come we have a lot of good professionals who we know are going to take care of their bodies, including Kirk.”
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson says that Cousins has been around the OTAs, but it doesn’t sound like he’s been doing a ton.
“There’s been days — Kirk’s kind of in and out, just getting his own rhythm going,” Robinson said. “Most of the guys have been here. Obviously, it’s voluntary, so it’s at those guys’ discretion.”
Why wouldn’t the Falcons want Cousins to participate?
Cousins is currently under contract with 2025 being the first of the three remaining years on his contract. The casual observer might think that the team should want him to show up to offseason workouts whether they are voluntary or mandatory. But, they don’t and here is why.
Back in 2006, a similar situation came to a head for the Tennessee Titans. It was a foregone conclusion that the Titans were going to trade quarterback Steve McNair. The team knew it, McNair knew it, everyone knew it.
On April 3rd of that year, McNair showed up to the team’s facility to work out and the Titans told him he wasn’t allowed on the property. They feared liability if he were to get hurt, which would put them on the hook for a $23.46 million cap hit. McNair filed a grievance – that he won – that allowed him to continue working out at the team’s facility. McNair was traded to the Baltimore Ravens just a couple of months later.
In the same vein, the Falcons don’t want something similar happening with Cousins. If he’s at the team’s mandatory minicamp tomorrow, an injury would be bad for two big reasons. 1. Well, now he’s hurt and no one would want to trade for an injured player, and 2. The Falcons would be on the hook for his contract.
The most likely scenario is that Cousins will show up to avoid any fines, but he won’t practice and put himself – and the Falcons – at risk of injury.