Kirk Cousins rumors: Falcons intent on keeping QB as backup, despite veteran’s desire for starting opportunity

As the NFL awaits the decisions of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson in 2025 free agency, another veteran quarterback is itching for his own opportunity to test the market. Despite Kirk Cousins’ desire to pursue a starting gig, however, the Atlanta Falcons are firm in their plans to retain Cousins, according to ESPN.

Many media outlets indicated early this offseason that Cousins would be released at the onset of free agency, after Atlanta benched the veteran for first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. Yet general manager Terry Fontenot said later that the Falcons would proceed with Cousins as the backup. The club has since “doubled down” on that stance, per ESPN, to the point the “most likely outcome” is Cousins returning.

Behind closed doors, Cousins remains “frustrated” by the situation, and it’s “no secret he wants to be a starter somewhere,” as Marc Raimondi reported. Yet the quarterback’s relationship with Falcons brass has “remained cordial and professional,” which former NFL agent Joel Corry speculated is actually a reason Cousins remains in Atlanta after the initial waves of free agency.

“If Cousins had been a locker room distraction during a playoff push instead of the consummate professional after he was benched,” Corry said, “getting rid of him when the new league year starts would [have been] at the top of Atlanta’s to-do list.”

If, somehow, the Falcons opt to let Cousins out of the $180 million contract he signed last offseason, the Cleveland Browns could be waiting to welcome him. Despite acquiring Kenny Pickett via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Browns reportedly have strong interest in reuniting Cousins with his former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who’s now Cleveland’s coach.