Current NFL GM says Falcons' Kirk Cousins move is 'guaranteed'

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot insisted that he will "do what’s best for this football team, whether that’s a trade or whatever it is" regarding the future of wantaway veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. 

For a piece published on Thursday, league reporter Armando Salguero of OutKick spoke with "a current NFL general manager" who offered quite a prediction about how the Falcons will handle Cousins' status. 

"Your colleagues have totally bought into the Falcons on Cousins trade," that executive told Salguero. "They've played all you people. They're trading him. It's gonna happen guaranteed. They've been talking to a bunch of teams. Only question is when they come back to earth and do it. That might be a while."

The unnamed general manager was referencing how Fontenot has said throughout the offseason that the Falcons are willing to hold onto Cousins as a backup for 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr., who replaced Cousins in the Atlanta lineup this past December. A recent report claimed that the Falcons want an acquiring team "to pay $20M of the $45M worth of guarantees" left on Cousins' contract. Fontenot said on Wednesday he hasn't "put a number on" how much he wants a team to pay.

Per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic shared during a Thursday appearance on Infinity Sports Network's "Maggie and Perloff" show that "the Falcons do not wanna take on a lot of the salary" for a Cousins trade. 

"It would be a later draft pick in exchange," Russini added. 

Salguero repeated others and noted that the Vikings likely won't be a landing spot for Cousins. The 36-year-old's former club wants to play 2024 first-round choice J.J. McCarthy unless McCarthy fails to impress in springtime workouts coming off the full meniscus repair he needed last August. Meanwhile, the Browns are set to have Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and perhaps a to-be-drafted rookie compete for their starting job this summer. 

Cousins has a full no-trade clause attached to his contract and could block a move to the Steelers as long as stories keep linking that club with free agent Aaron Rodgers. As of the final Thursday of April, Pittsburgh seemed to be the only team remaining in search of a veteran who could serve as a 2025 Week 1 starter over a project quarterback.