Kirk Cousins might have already accepted his football fate.
Cousins was at the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and seemed to know that his days as a starting quarterback in the NFL might be over.
“Obviously, you’d love to play,” Cousins told reporters. “But I’m not gonna dwell on things that aren’t reality.”
Cousins, 36, is coming off one of his worst seasons in the league in his 13-year career.
He started in 14 games for the Falcons, throwing 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a QBR of 50.4
His season came to an end after being benched for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in week 16, as the Falcons missed out on the playoffs.
It’s expected that Cousins will become Penix’s backup this year, as Atlanta might be left with the 36-year-old quarterback at the start of the 2025 season.
Many thought the Falcons would wait until the June 1 deadline to cut the $180 million quarterback, but that deadline has come and gone, and Cousins is still in Atlanta.
That leaves the only option for both parties — a trade.
Nevertheless, even that seems less likely with each passing day.
The Steelers were the last team that desperately needed a quarterback but now have their guy in Aaron Rodgers.
Cousins said he’s not looking at the past and hopes the Falcons have success this year.
“Certainly there were conversations in January, February, March, even April, but we’re moving forward now,” Cousins added. “Those are things we talked about months ago. Now we need to move forward. Right now, it’s about the situation I’m in and being the best I can be and hopefully, in February, we as an organization are holding up the Lombardi Trophy.”