The cruel irony is that he became a Falcon largely due to the job security that his four-year, $180 million deal provided. He’s now seeing the downside of that contract. Indeed, the job security is too robust, making him hard to move via trade since the money is so meaty. Any chance Atlanta is going to put him in a bit of an awkward spot in August by asking him to shoulder some preseason work?

Kirk Cousins and The Awkward Spot in Atlanta

Right off the top, my opinion: playing Mr. Cousins in the preseason would be foolish.

Safe to say, though, that the Falcons haven’t been governed by external expectations. Almost everyone believed that the former Viking would now be a former Falcon. Instead, he’s still on Atlanta’s roster since the team has dug in its heels, refusing to trade him away for pennies on the dollar.

how things would unfold: “If Cousins remains on the Atlanta roster as of March 16, another $10M in 2026 would become fully guaranteed — not impossible, but practically unfathomable after the decision today.” At July 15th, we have blown past the March 16th date that Pelissero reasonably thought was “unfathomable.”

The point is simply to insist that Atlanta isn’t beholden to expectations. Nor are they a team that’s willing to cave to Cousins’ preferences and nor are they a team that is bound by what most would consider common sense.

These basic observations bring us around to what could be an awkward scenario: does Kirk Cousins get leaned on to play plenty of snaps in the preseason?

I’m the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. I am Canadian.