Falcons GM Terry Fontenot “Very Comfortable” With Kirk Cousins As Backup

Per Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Falcons GM Terry Fontenot is “very comfortable” keeping QB Kirk Cousins as the backup moving forward.

The Falcons are open to keeping Cousins around as a backup to Michael Penix Jr. despite the large amount of guaranteed money he’s owed in 2025.

“We are very comfortable moving forward with (Kirk Cousins) as backup,” Fontenot said. “Kirk is a great man and he’s been great support for Mike. We are very comfortable moving forward with him as the backup.”

Fontenot also touched on the potential of trading Cousins. It was reported earlier this week Atlanta wants something in return for the veteran signal caller and they aren’t looking to release him.

“We will take those things as they come. Everyone would have to be good with it. There’s a lot of layers to that,” Fontenot said.

Cousins, 36, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons. 

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons this offseason. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed. 

In 2024, Cousins has appeared in 14 games for the Falcons and completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

We’ll have more on Cousins as the news is available.