“I don’t blame him”: Falcons HC Raheem Morris shares clear stance on Kirk Cousins’ trade talks

Kirk Cousins seems keen to find another NFL team to contribute to, and his head coach understands why.

The Atlanta Falcons chose to bench the veteran quarterback before the end of his first season with the club, choosing to go with youngster Michael Penix Jr. instead. Cousins signed a four-year contract with the Falcons in 2024 for $180 million. Speaking to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris had nothing but praise for his veteran QB.

“Obviously has the ability to come out of the pocket a little better than this time last year. That has dramatically improved. I really love where he’s at. ... I don’t blame him for wanting to go somewhere else to start.”

Cousins went 7-7 as the Falcons starter in 2024, throwing a career-high 16 interceptions before Morris decided to make Penix the first-choice QB. The former Michigan State pivot has been to four Pro Bowls in his NFL career, while leading the league in completion percentage during the 2015 campaign (69.8).

Putting Cousins on the bench is a less-than-ideal situation for Atlanta, as they are, in essence, paying him to serve as a mentor at the moment. The club owes him $27.5 million this season.

Rumours were that before the draft in April, the Falcons wanted $20 million in salary relief as part of a trade deal with other teams for Cousins, but no one was willing to offer Atlanta more than $10 million.

Kirk Cousins’ potential landing spot

While Cousins is still an Atlanta Falcon for the moment, he might get a shot to play on a Super Bowl contender in 2025.

According to reports, the Los Angeles Rams might be willing to make a deal with Atlanta for the 36-year-old QB. There are concerns about the health of Matthew Stafford in LA on a team that is in win-now mode, having made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. The Sporting News reports that the Rams might be willing to pay as much as $15 million in relief for Cousins. The extent of Stafford’s back issues may dictate just how desperate they are to use someone like Cousins, who may be nothing more than a rental player.

Cousins has started four postseason games in his NFL career, going 1-3 over that stretch. The last time he was in the playoffs was in 2022, a year in which he had eight game-winning drives, equaling the single-season record set by Stafford.