INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL’s offseason officially kicked off last week at the NFL combine, where head coaches and team executives gathered ostensibly to evaluate draft-eligible prospects. Sure, some of that happened, but the event is just as valuable because of the barroom and backroom conversations that lead to the offseason moves that keep us all glued to this league from March until training camps open in July.
Here’s what I heard about the Falcons during my week in town:
Almost nobody believes the Falcons about Cousins
General manager Terry Fontenot and coach Raheem Morris continued to push the narrative that they’d be pleased as punch to have Kirk Cousins back next season as the backup to quarterback Michael Penix Jr., but the league isn’t buying it. During my first four days in Indianapolis, every single person I talked to about Cousins scoffed at the idea. I had to add the “almost” in the subhead above because of one conversation I had on Day 5 that suggested some people in Cousins’ camp are at least starting to wonder if the Falcons might actually carry out this bluff.
Here’s the argument the Falcons are selling: Cousins will count either $37.5 million (in the event of a trade) or $40 million (in the event of a post-June 1 release) or $65 million (if someone loses their mind and Atlanta releases him as a pre-June 1 cut) against the 2025 salary cap if he’s not on the team, so why not keep him at a $40 million salary-cap hit and have the league’s best backup quarterback?
The team’s relationship with Cousins is strained after he reversed course during Super Bowl week and said he was injured in Week 10, but Fontenot and Morris indicated last week that it is salvageable.
“We’ve got so much respect for (Cousins’ agent) Mike McCartney and Kirk Cousins,” Fontenot said.
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Cousins is guaranteed a $10 million bonus (for 2026) if he’s still on the roster on March 17, so everyone believes Atlanta will show its cards before then, but that roster bonus doesn’t count against the salary cap, so it’s possible owner Arthur Blank would be willing to pay that (what’s another $10 million?) to increase his team’s leverage. If the Falcons can get a trade for Cousins done before March 17, they will not get much in return. We’re talking about a sixth- or seventh-round draft pick. If they hold on to Cousins past March 17, he could end up having more value in training camp or even during the season if a team finds itself in a bind because of a quarterback injury or underperformance.
(The problem with that plan beyond the extra $10 million out of pocket is it would preclude the Falcons from bringing in the best backup quarterback option in the spring, but there are no problem-free options at this point.)
Will the Falcons keep Kirk Cousins as the backup quarterback this year? The rest of the NFL isn’t buying it. (David Berding / Getty Images)
Ultimately, though, the reason no one believes Cousins will be around next season isn’t about Cousins. It’s about Penix. The two quarterbacks developed a close relationship during their short time together in Atlanta. They live in the same suburban neighborhood, and Cousins often gave Penix a ride to home games and the airport for road trips. Cousins was a gracious mentor for the young quarterback even after Cousins was benched.
That doesn’t change the fact that the path the Falcons envision for Penix is less cluttered without Cousins around for the 2025 season. Everything in Cousins’ past says he would continue to embrace Penix and help him in any way he could, but Cousins still believes he can be/is a starting quarterback and human nature exists. What happens when Penix inevitably hits a rough patch in his second season and the Falcons have a quarterback with $100 million in guaranteed money sitting right there ready to go? What happens if Penix twists his ankle and Cousins plays great in relief? What happens if some players in a locker room that genuinely liked Cousins start to think he got a raw deal? What happens if Penix peeks over his shoulder and wonders about any of these things?
“I’ve got so much confidence in Michael Penix leading us into the future, and I believe our whole building does, and I believe our fan base does, and I believe our owner does,” Morris said. “We are really excited about that young man.”
Which means they have to do everything they can to give him all the keys to the kingdom, which is why almost no one believes they will keep Cousins around.
Jarrett is not untouchable
Morris and Fontenot said many, many nice things about veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, but they wouldn’t say he’ll definitely be on the 2025 roster.
Atlanta has to get younger on the defensive line. The three defensive linemen who played the highest percentage of snaps last year — Jarrett, David Onyemata and Eddie Goldman — all will be 31 or 32 next season. The Falcons drafted Ruke Orhorhoro in the second round and Brandon Dorlus in the fourth round last year to be ready for the upcoming transition, and it’s now time to figure out if either of those guys was worth the pick. That means moving on from some veterans up front, and there’s a mathematical case that Jarrett should be the first to go.
Jarrett, who will be playing his 11th season this fall, is in the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2022. He will count $20.37 million against the salary cap this year, but Atlanta could cut him and accrue only a $4.1 million dead-cap hit. That $16.2 million savings would go a long way for a team that is $5.3 million over the 2025 cap.
But that’s just the math case, and Jarrett’s career in Atlanta merits a more holistic assessment. He played 66.9 percent of the Falcons’ defensive snaps last year (the highest of any lineman) and had 2 1/2 sacks and 12 quarterback hits. It wasn’t his best season, but it was good and the upcoming season might be better because he will be two years removed from his 2023 ACL tear.
Then there are the numerous intangibles. Jarrett is a fifth-round pick who made good in Atlanta. The Georgia native has become the face of the franchise in many ways. His Grady Gives foundation is a consistent positive presence in the city. He’s never produced an embarrassing off-field headline. And at his peak, he was (and could be again?) one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the league.
“You can’t say enough positive things about the ethos of Grady Jarrett,” Morris said. “He is what a Falcon is. You can’t really put a value on what Grady does. Those are the kind of players that we want to shape people to be like. Those are leaders in our program that bring out the best version of us.”
Morris wants Orhorhoro and Dorlus to walk past Jarrett in the locker room and see the way the veteran prepares every day, and he wants Jarrett in their ear on the practice field.
“It’s not just about exactly what you’re doing on the field. It’s everything,” Fontenot said. “Ultimately, we have to do what is right for the Atlanta Falcons and make the best decisions based on what is going to help us win football games, but with any player we are going to look at what they’re doing on the field, how they fit into the locker room, all of those areas.”
It’s hard to imagine the Falcons would cut Jarrett (don’t forget Blank is a huge fan, too). Releasing Onyemata (which would result in approximately $8 million of salary-cap space) and letting Goldman leave in free agency is probably the path Atlanta will take. Jarrett’s deal could be reworked in a way that would give the Falcons some salary-cap relief and allow him to finish his career in Atlanta, but neither Morris nor Fontenot was willing last week to commit to Jarrett being on the roster this season.
“Obviously business comes first,” Morris said. “It’s about our ethos, but you have to do what is best for the Falcons at all times.”
Todd France, Jarrett’s agent, did not return a message from The Athletic seeking comment on Jarrett’s contract status, but he told Zach Klein of WSB-TV, “Grady is an Atlanta Falcon right now, so we’ll see where that goes.”
The league can’t quit Pitts
I had as many Kyle Pitts conversations as Cousins conversations in Indianapolis, which means I had a lot of Pitts conversations. Basically, the rest of the league is still having the conversation about the tight end that Atlanta fans have had the last two seasons. What’s going on with Pitts? Is this the year he breaks out? Do the Falcons want to re-sign him?
Pitts finished his first season in Atlanta’s new offensive system as the team’s fifth-leading receiver with 47 catches for 602 yards and four touchdowns. Since being selected fourth in 2021, he is fifth among tight ends in receiving yards (2,651) and 23rd in touchdowns (10).
After a 1,026-yard rookie season, Pitts’ career has left everyone who has followed it wanting more, and many fans have become so disillusioned that they’re not even talking about Pitts anymore. Lots of other people still are, though.
“He’s always going to have the added pressure because of where he was drafted,” Morris said. “We want to get the young man out there being the best version of himself and we will always make the right decision for the Falcons in order to get him going. We’ll have to figure those things out. He’s shown some spurts of greatness, and he’s shown some things that (make you) desire more. We’ll try to get the best out of him at all times. That’s our job as coaches.”
“We’ll find a way to get the best out of (Kyle Pitts) at all times. That’s our job as coaches.” pic.twitter.com/YMVC67ZnPu
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) February 25, 2025
Fontenot was also asked about Pitts during his podium interview with the league-wide media last week, and he gave a similar comment, which could be called “kind of a compliment” or “encouraging but with an edge.”
“Kyle is a really talented player. Man, you can make a highlight tape and see all the good things that he’s done,” the general manager said. “Where we stand at this point, Kyle in his mind this offseason (has to be thinking), ‘I’m going to do everything I can do to make sure I’m effective and I’m helping this team win,’ Just like any other player, we are pouring into our players and make sure we can do everything we can do. We believe Kyle is going to put everything he can into it to be the best player he can be for us, and we’re going to do the same.”
Pitts will be playing on the final year of his contract and making $10.87 million on his fifth-year option. The tone of the answers given in Indianapolis and his lack of production the last three seasons point toward this being Pitts’ final year in Atlanta. All the questions everyone else was asking about him point to the fact that there will be a free-agency market for him in 2026.
The edge rusher class is deep
There’s been a lot of “this is bad draft class” talk in the air, but that’s not true for the Falcons’ most important position group — edge rusher. Several pass rushers could be immediate impact players, according to multiple league sources. Dane Brugler’s most recent mock draft has Georgia outside linebacker Jalon Walker being Atlanta’s pick at No. 15, and if Walker is around in the middle of the first round, that will speak to the depth of this class.
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Atlanta’s draft board is ‘set’
The Falcons came to Indianapolis with all their draftable players ranked. That happens for the first time each year during February meetings with all the team’s executives and scouts at the Flowery Branch headquarters. There will be adjustments to those rankings from now until the draft, but probably not too many.
“It always goes back to the football part, and that’s where you do have to stay disciplined,” Fontenot said. “If you start shifting your board a lot based on what they do in their underwear, that is not good.”
(Top photo of Kyle Pitts: Matt Kelley / Getty Images)
