Falcons Expected to Cut Kirk Cousins Before $10M Bonus Due: -9 to -10 Favorites With Penix Jr.
Kirk Cousins is still extremely popular, as demonstrated by the searches coming into the Gambling911.com website over the last three days related to his next team odds.
This week, it was announced Michael Penix Jr. will be starting in Cousin place.
The Falcons odds have moved from -9 to -9.5 and even -10 in their Sunday game against the New York Giants.
Penix has spent his first week of practice as Atlanta's starting quarterback becoming more comfortable throwing to the team's top receivers, including Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts. He will certainly have an excellent opportunity getting to play among what is perhaps the worst team in the league right now.
Cousins' divorce from the Falcons is expected to be finalized before his $10 million roster bonus is due March 17, with executives across the NFL fully expecting Atlanta to release him by then.
A Falcons official told ESPN on Saturday morning that it was too early to determine whether the organization would release Cousins. The official added that Penix's relatively low salary cap number for 2025 ($5.2 million) gives the Falcons the financial flexibility to potentially keep Cousins.
But the expectation around the league remains that the Falcons will release Cousins before the roster bonus is due.
The Falcons have slipped behind the Buccaneers in the NFC South standings, but their schedule and a favorable tiebreaker situation make it realistic for Atlanta to still win a division title in coach Raheem Morris' first season.
Atlanta does have the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay.
It won't be easy down the stretch. While the Falcons face the Giants and Panthers at home in the final three weeks, they have a tough matchup against the Commanders in a Week 17 battle of the top two Heisman Trophy vote-getters from 2023. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, don't face another winning team, as they finish their season with the Cowboys, Panthers and Saints.
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