Falcons' Kirk Cousins Likely Staying, But One Team Remains Potential Option

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has remained on the Atlanta Falcons roster past every single deadline this offseason. The expectation is that will remain the case next week when NFL teams are required to cut their rosters down from 90 to 53 players by 4 pm ET on August 26.

That's what NFL.com's Eric Edholm argued Thursday. But he also didn't rule out a Cousins trade to a familiar connection -- the Los Angeles Rams.

"It has been awfully quiet on the Cousins front lately, to the point where the most likely course of action feels like the Falcons not trading him and just keeping him as the backup," Edholm wrote. "Most of the starting jobs around the NFL have dried up.

"The one spot to monitor might be the Rams, withand his balky back. Stafford is practicing again, but if that issue begins to trend in the wrong direction, Cousins could be an option in Los Angeles.

"The connection ex-Rams staffers Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson have with Sean McVay would presumably make it an easier trade to do, if the need arises."

Edholm isn't the first to suggest the Rams as a potential destination for Cousins. CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan proposed Los Angeles as a landing spot for the veteran quarterback Tuesday.

"If L.A. wanted to truly give itself a bona fide safety net at quarterback behind Stafford, they could explore a Kirk Cousins trade as he continues to serve as QB2 behind Michael Pe nix Jr. in Atlanta," wrote Sullivan.

Kirk Cousins Likely Staying With Atlanta Falcons

When the Falcons elected to keep Cousins through the first 2025 deadline, which was when his roster bonus was due in March, pundits speculated that Atlanta would continue to hold onto the veteran quarterback until a suitable trade presented itself.

Meanwhile, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris have largely touted they are "comfortable" with Cousins as their backup.

Whether that was actually true or a negotiating ploy was initially hard to read. But it's looking more and more like the former with the regular season approaching.

The most logical trade for Cousins and the Falcons is to a contender that is desperate for a veteran quarterback to save their season. The Rams could fit that description if Matthew Stafford is sidelined for a long period beginning in September.

But if the Falcons have indeed been waiting for a contender to officially lose a starting quarterback this preseason, it hasn't happened. As Edholm explained, the starting quarterback spots have "dried up."

There's one with the New Orleans Saints, which has caused pundits to propose the Falcons deal Cousins to their division rival. But that's highly unlikely for obvious reasons.

The Rams are a team to watch perhaps, in part, because there aren't any other destinations that make sense for Cousins at the moment. It appears he will be Michael Penix Jr.'s backup when the regular season begins.