Kirk Cousins has always been a man who thrives on proving people wrong. Back in his Washington days, he famously coined the phrase, “You like that?!” — a battle cry born from silencing doubters. Yet, fast forward to today, and Cousins once again finds himself at a crossroads.

Cousins’ future with the Falcons is uncertain! The Atlanta QB, who struggled to hold down his starting position in the team, astonished many with his latest takes. This time, it’s not just about touchdowns or playoff dreams. It’s about dollars — $40 million of them — and the decision now rests in the hands of Falcons owner Arthur Blank. After the team owner cleared his stance on his release, the former ‘Redskins’ starting QB reportedly confronted him with his multi-million contract deal. Senior NFL insider for The Athletic, Dianna Russini, confirmed that the Falcons still have no plans to release Kirk.

Taking to her official X handle, Russini cleared that the team was not going to trade him. “Teams that have been interested in Kirk Cousins around the league have been told that Atlanta won’t move him,” she commented to Albert Breer of The MMQB’s post. Initially, Sr.. NFL Reporter confirmed the news after QB’s meeting with the team owner.

As per Breer’s tweet, Kirk, 36, met with team owner Arthur Blank on Wednesday night. Interestingly, during this meeting, the four-time Pro Bowler discussed his future with the team. Impressively, Breer confirmed that during the meeting, the NFL quarterback demonstrated his hunger to play as the starter quarterback for the team. Arthur replied that he would do what’s best for the team regarding the quarterback position.

Kirk Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons on March 13, 2024, carries a cap hit value of $40 million in 2025.  After rehabilitating from an Achilles tear from the 2023 season, he could not leave a lasting impact in his first season with Atlanta. His hefty contract details depict one solid reason why Arthur Blank would not release him.

The reason why Arthur Blank will not release Kirk Cousins

Despite starting the first 14 games of the season, his play had become erratic and inconsistent in the middle of the season. Disappointingly, the former Vikings player did not even pass a single TD during Atlanta’s four-game losing streak from Week 10 to Week 14. Instead, he recorded eight interceptions during the streak, which ultimately ended the team’s chances of reaching the playoffs. And it absolutely led HC Raheem Morris to turn to first-round draft, rookie Michael Penix Jr, as starting QB.

However, after not having a satisfactory season with the team, Cousins spoke up about his future. The Atlanta quarterback stated that he aspires to continue playing in 2025, either with the Falcons or somewhere else, in an interview with NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on February 4. “I definitely still feel like I have a lot of good football left in me,” he reiterated. “Time will tell. Still kind of uncertain. We’ll get to March and know a lot more,” he also remarked.

Besides this, he also shed light on his primary focus to stay fit in the upcoming season.  “I think the focus for me really is getting healthy. That’s really my focus ’cause I got to get healthy. I’m no good to the Falcons, I’m no good to a team if I’m not feeling really good.”

Cousins, who has three years left on his contract with the Falcons, is due $27.5 million in guaranteed salary along with the prorated signing bonus of  $12,500,000 in 2025. Because of this, it would be challenging for Atlanta to trade Cousins before June 1st; the Falcons would save $2.5 million but incur dead money of $65 million in 2025, $25 million in 2026, and $12.5 million in 2027.

While a post-June 1 trade would save $27.5 million this year and $45 million in ’26 and ’27 in cap savings, it would result in $12.5 million in dead money in each of the next three seasons. And now the Falcons have cleared that they have no plans to release him. It’s not the worst situation, with the veteran QB having 3,508 yards for 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with the team. But maybe it’s a lesson to franchises not to sign long-term big-money guaranteed deals with QBs nearing the sunsets of their careers?