Falcons Want New Team To Pay $20M For Kirk Cousins

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Falcons have asked teams interested in acquiring QB Kirk Cousins to pay $20 million of his $45 million worth of guarantees left on his deal.

It’s worth noting that no team has been willing to pay that number as of now. Schefter thinks a team like the Vikings or Steelers could be willing to pay up to $10 million to facilitate a deal, but the amount an acquiring team takes on will affect the compensation going back to Atlanta.

Cousins isn’t likely to waive his no-trade clause until after the draft, and the way the picks fall could influence whether a deal gets done. 

Throughout this whole situation, the Falcons have reiterated they are content to keep Cousins as a backup in 2025 but remain open to a trade as long as it makes sense for them. 

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 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.