FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said the team is “very comfortable” with keeping Kirk Cousins on the roster next season as the backup quarterback behind Michael Penix Jr.
Fontenot spoke with reporters Thursday, four days after the 2024 season wrapped up for Atlanta.
Cousins was signed to a four-year, $180 million contract last March with $100 million guaranteed, but the 36-year-old four-time Pro Bowl selection was benched, and Penix, a rookie, started the final three games. The Falcons went 8-9 overall for the team’s seventh consecutive losing season.
The final $10 million of the $100 million guarantee in Cousins’ contract will be paid if he is not released before March 17. Fontenot said suggestions the team plans to release Cousins — who spent his first six NFL seasons in Washington and six more in Minnesota before joining the Falcons — are “not valid.”
“He’s not the starter anymore, but we’re very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup,” Fontenot said. “He’s handled himself extremely well through the entire process from start to finish, from when he came in the building. And, you know, in these situations, that’s when you show your true character.”