The Atlanta Falcons were initially praised for signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract during the 2024 offseason, but that move has not aged well. Cousins never looked fully healthy and eventually lost his job due to poor performance.
With Michael Penix Jr. in place, there’s no need for Cousins to stick around as an overpaid backup. Many around the NFL assume the Falcons will have no choice but to release Cousins, which would incur a dead cap hit of $65 million.
But what if Atlanta can find a trade partner for the veteran quarterback? Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton created seven blockbuster trade proposals, including one that sends Cousins to the Cleveland Browns for a 2025 fourth-round pick:
The article goes on to cite Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski’s prior relationship with Cousins in Minnesota, which definitely makes sense on paper. Cleveland needs a starting-caliber bridge quarterback and Atlanta has one to spare.
In a perfect world, the Browns and Falcons would agree to a post-June 1 trade. This would free up over $27 million in cap space for Atlanta while incurring a dead cap hit of just $12.5 million, but that probably isn’t realistic.
Since the Falcons are likely to eat a big chunk of the quarterback’s salary whether they cut or trade him prior to June 1, getting a fourth-round pick would have to be considered a win for Atlanta.
If the Falcons pull off a trade during the draft or early in free agency, they would take on over $37 million in dead cap space and free up $2.5 million.
Check out the team’s full list of players set to hit free agency when the new league year begins in March.