The Next Kirk Cousins Surprise Hits NFL Headlines
To show up or not to show up. That’s Kirk Cousins’ version of Hamlet’s famous phrasing.
The most recent word is that Kirk Cousins is going to show up. On The Athletic, Jayna Bardahl and Dianna Russini indicate that Cousins will be at the Falcons’ minicamp: “Quarterback Kirk Cousins is expected to attend the Atlanta Falcons’ mandatory minicamp beginning on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic.”
Kirk Cousins & The Atlanta Drama
Under normal circumstances, Kirk Cousins showing up to work wouldn’t be much of a surprise. The reality would be as surprising as seeing a cloud in the sky or a Packer becoming a Viking.
Lately, though, Cousins hasn’t been operating under normal circumstances. After flopping as Atlanta’s starter and getting benched, Cousins has pushed for a trade or cut. He wants his shot at being a starter in his ongoing effort to get to the top of the mountain: a Super Bowl championship.
Consider just a quick update from the previously mentioned Athletic article on Cousins’ attendance: “Cousins did not attend the Falcons’ voluntary OTAs in late May, but was present for workouts in April.” In the back and forth, we’re talking about being present a pair of times and absent once.
Presumably, the Falcons’ leadership will get asked about the situation, leading to some communication that’s political and dull. The focus is on getting better and Kirk Cousins is a tremendous veteran. Nothing to see here, folks.
One does wonder, however, if subtracting Cousins would make things easier. Potentially, an absent Cousins would lead to less of a media circus. Sure, there would be questions from reporters, but head coach Raheem Morris (and others) could simply say some iteration of, “Kirk is a great player and a valued part of our team, but we’re keeping our focus on who is here right now. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
Atlanta’s coach won’t be able to take that approach if Kirk Cousins is there slinging the pigskin, soaking up reps as he lurks behind Michael Penix Jr.
Once more, kick it back to The Athletic for a bit of a summary of the situation: “The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-season, $180 million deal in free agency last year, despite him coming off a torn Achilles tendon suffered in 2023. Amid struggles, Atlanta benched Cousins in Week 16 and turned the team over to Penix. This offseason, the Falcons have been clear with their intent to start and develop Penix into the quarterback of the future.”
Recently, PurplePTSD discussed how Kirk Cousins is operating from within a prison of his own making. He chased huge money partly to gain job security. That job security is now keeping in place despite his desire to now find a new home.
Another difficult reality is that Cousins has always pursued a pair of things in tandem: Super Bowl contention alongside being well compensated. So far, the approach hasn’t worked particularly well.
The thirteen-year veteran has just a single playoff win in his career, never leading a team far into the postseason. Many would think that that basic reality makes the idea of him demanding huge contracts foolish since NFL resources are finite. When a team pays a disproportionate amount of the cap to a single person, then the unsaid message is that the player demanding so much money is capable of overcoming flaws that exist elsewhere on the roster. Patrick Mahomes has proven capable of doing so; Kirk Cousins hasn’t.
Based on the common NFL logic, Kirk Cousins seems unlikely to be on Atlanta’s roster for the full season. The distraction would be present throughout the remainder of 2025 before spilling into 2026, potentially complicating the Falcons’ push to win an underwhelming NFC South division. Do they eventually cut their losses and move on?
Keep an eye on this one, folks. The Kirk Cousins drama still has a few more twists and turns.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Jaire Alexander Steam Hits Vikings
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
You must be logged in to post a comment.