{"id":219239,"date":"2025-07-19T10:48:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T10:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/219239\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T10:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T10:48:15","slug":"falcons-predicted-to-make-expensive-10-million-kirk-cousins-decision-that-could-backfire-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/219239\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons predicted to make expensive $10 million Kirk Cousins decision that could backfire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no doubt that the biggest thorn in the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 side right now is Kirk Cousins and his contract. Recently, Netflix\u2019s Quarterback documentary aired, and Cousins revealed that had he known the Falcons were going to draft Michael Penix Jr., he likely would have chosen a different team in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertainly, if I had that information around free agency, it would&#8217;ve affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota, with how much we loved it there, if both teams were going to be drafting a quarterback high. But I&#8217;ve also learned in 12 years in this league that you&#8217;re not entitled to anything \u2014 it&#8217;s all about earning your spot and proving yourself,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nfl\/atlanta-falcons\/news\/kirk-cousins-expresses-he-regrets-leaving-vikings-after-falcons-drafted-michael-penix-jr\/1e2be08e8ae11772e037dfce\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cousins said.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cousins said.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Cousins played through injuries last season in an effort to hold onto his QB1 job, but it eventually became too much, leading to him being benched. It seems he never truly felt secure in his starting role.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeams are not allowed to demand a player be subjected to a medical evaluation\/physical against his will,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nfl\/atlanta-falcons\/news\/falcons-kirk-cousins-never-felt-job-security-during-2025-season-atlanta-reporter\/86cb691a432248bb47392da4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Atlanta reporter Joe Patrick wrote.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Atlanta reporter Joe Patrick wrote.<\/a> \u201cAfter selecting Penix, the Falcons made every effort otherwise to affirm Cousins as the true QB1. Obviously Kirk never felt real security or he probably would\u2019ve been more honest about his injury.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pro Football Network\u2019s Jacob Infante believes the Falcons could eventually cut Cousins if the situation escalates\u2014but doing so wouldn\u2019t come cheap.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRealistically, a Kirk Cousins trade might be more realistic for the Atlanta Falcons, seeing as though cutting him would actually cost them $10 million this year,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballnetwork.com\/shocking-cut-candidate-every-nfl-team\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Infante wrote.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Infante wrote. <\/a>\u201cHe\u2019s more of a trade candidate than a cut candidate, but if it reaches the point where Cousins refuses to suit up for Atlanta, they could have a tough choice to make.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vakw2IH60eBZ4UO1Iz1b\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nfl\/atlanta-falcons\/news\/falcons-urged-move-kirk-cousins-inviting-drama-disrupts-years-growth\/29580392f787cc36ade34621\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:ATL All Day\u2019s Nick Halden says the Falcons need to act fast;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">ATL All Day\u2019s Nick Halden says the Falcons need to act fast<\/a>, as Cousins is now inviting drama into the locker room. The situation continues to evolve\u2014and not in a good way. While cutting Cousins might not be the worst idea from a team perspective, his contract remains a major roadblock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s no doubt that the biggest thorn in the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 side right now is Kirk Cousins and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,294,1879,6,2661],"class_list":{"0":"post-219239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-kirk-cousins","14":"tag-michael-penix-jr","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-the-falcons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114879510116923126","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}