The post Falcons expected to dump Kirk Cousins in $75M quarterback trade as insurance for Michael Penix Jr. originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
Entering the 2026 offseason, there were questions at the quarterback position for the Atlanta Falcons.
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The jury is still out on Michael Penix Jr., who suffered a partially torn ACL after a subpar second season in the NFL, which only complicates matters further.
Kirk Cousins is still on the roster, but he’s not an inspiring option at this stage of his career, and it’s possible the Falcons may cut ties with him via trade or release.
With all of this in mind, FanSided’s Christopher Kline predicts the Falcons will complete a trade for quarterback Geno Smith with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Smith’s salary is still quite affordable by quarterback standards as he enters the final year of his contract. Maybe the 35-year-old is burned out, but he’s a dynamic weapon in Seattle in 2024,” Kline wrote. “It’s hard to get that version of Smith out of people’s minds. He might have looked better on a real team. The Atlanta Falcons should probably step up a notch and cut Kirk Cousins. Michael Penix is still recovering from an ACL injury. Smith can go out there with a full arsenal of weapons and give Kevin Stefanski the closest thing to a true quarterback he’s seen in quite some time.”
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Smith signed a two-year, $75 million contract extension with the Raiders in 2025 after being acquired via trade, but the move didn’t pan out as Smith struggled against one of the NFL’s worst offenses.
With the No. 1 pick, the Raiders are widely expected to select Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, which would make Smith expendable.
On paper, Smith would be a solid addition behind Penix.
The veteran would provide decent insurance and a mentor for Penix Jr., and it’s conceivable that if Smith does get a chance to play, he could bounce back and play better in a more capable offense.
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That said, we’re not sure the gap between Smith and Cousins is enough to handle the financial burden the Falcons would take on with this approach.
Lest we forget, cutting or trading Cousins would result in a dead money hit, and the Falcons would then have to shoulder at least part of Smith’s contract.
That doesn’t seem feasible for the Falcons, who started the offseason with just $17.4 million in cap space.
It’s more realistic to expect the Falcons to play another season with the same quarterback setup in 2026.
