Falcons should bench QB Kirk Cousins, but here's why they won't

It's time for Falcons head coach Raheem Morris to bench Kirk Cousins, but he probably won't for a non-football reason.

The Cousins experiment is failing in Atlanta. The Falcons (6-7) lost their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, 42-21 to the Vikings (11-2).

During Atlanta's losing streak, Cousins is 88-of-141 (62.4 percent) for 1,068 yards, no touchdowns and eight interceptions. It's been outscored by 55 points this season, 37 points more than through 13 games last season when Desmond Ridder was its primary starting quarterback.

With the season slipping away, Week 15 against the lowly Raiders would be the perfect time to turn to rookie Michael Penix Jr., who the Falcons unexpectedly selected with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft a month after signing Cousins in free agency.

Atlanta formed a contingency plan in case of a Cousins catastrophe. If you're going to install a fire extinguisher, you can't be afraid to break glass in case of emergency.

So, why not use Penix?

The Falcons have 180 million reasons to keep their faith in Cousins.

He's only one year into a four-year, $180 million contract he signed during the offseason.

On Monday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted that Atlanta is "on the hook for a $27.5 million guaranteed base salary next season."

"If the Falcons bench Cousins, there's a real chance they have to eat money to trade him this offseason," Barnwell added.

If NFL teams' last 2024 memories of Cousins are his current zero-touchdown, eight-interception, four-game streak, he shouldn't command much interest on the trade market.

And even if Atlanta finds a willing trade partner, Barnwell writes that the Falcons "will have paid him $90 million for one year of work."

Atlanta's wallet needs Cousins to be successful. 

Per Spotrac, the Falcons would incur a $37.5 million dead cap hit in 2025 (or spread between the 2025 and 2026 seasons) by trading the four-time Pro Bowler. 

Atlanta already projects to have one of the league's worst salary-cap situations entering the offseason, ranking 28th in estimated cap space ($7.6 million). (h/t Over The Cap)

The Falcons must improve their defense during the offseason by adding an edge-rusher and cornerback, which won't come cheap.

Based on Cousins' performance, it's becoming increasingly harder to justify Atlanta keeping him in the starting lineup. If it were up to us, he'd be benched for Cousins. But we aren't footing the bill.