This past season has featured the good, bad and ugly for the Atlanta Falcons.
The team had high hopes going into 2024. The Falcons sold out their season-ticket packages before training camp for the first time in 20 years. The players rewarded the fans with a 6-3 start and two exciting wins over the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Week 2, newly acquired quarterback Kirk Cousins led them to a comeback win on the road, on "Monday Night Football," against the Philadelphia Eagles, the team that would eventually win the Super Bowl. By Week 9, the NFC South title seemed all but locked up.
Then, the bad came. Cousins started to struggle beginning in Week 10. The Falcons lost four in a row. Cousins threw nine interceptions and just one touchdown over five games. The NFC South lead slipped, and the Bucs took over first place. The Falcons benched Cousins in Week 16, essentially turning the future of the franchise over to rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The first-year player performed well the last three games, but the team's defense faltered en route to an 8-9 finish. Atlanta hasn't made the playoffs nor had a winning record in seven years.
The ugly? That came last week. Cousins admitted on NFL Network that he took a hit in a Week 10 loss to the New Orleans Saints and injured his right shoulder and right elbow. Cousins, 36 years old and coming off a torn right Achilles, said he could never get the arm back to where he wanted it. Previously, when asked, Cousins denied he was injured. So did the Falcons coaching staff and front office. When he appeared as limited on the injury report during Week 11 for a right shoulder and elbow injury, Cousins chalked it up to a "clerical error."
So now, the Falcons go into the offseason with Cousins, a backup quarterback getting paid a guaranteed $90 million, and a defense that regressed from 2023. Here are four steps the team needs to rebound after a tumultuous few months.
A clean break from Cousins
In his end-of-season news conference, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said the team was comfortable moving forward with Cousins as Penix's backup. That was before Cousins' remarks last week.
The Falcons haven't addressed Cousins' comments about being injured, but no team would be happy about not knowing its quarterback was injured, or about perceptions it may have known but let him play anyway.
There has been dysfunction from the start between Cousins and the Falcons. They surprisingly drafted Penix at No. 8 overall just weeks after Cousins signed. He said he dreamed of retiring in Georgia, where his wife is from and where her family still lives. The drafting of Penix meant Cousins would just be a holdover, which begs the question of whether he would have signed if he would have known.
Even before the draft, there was a problem. During his introductory news conference after signing with the Falcons, Cousins indicated he spoke with the team's head trainer during a time when teams were not allowed to talk directly to a free agent, unless the player represented himself. The comments triggered a tampering investigation and ultimately cost the Falcons a fifth-round pick and a fine.
Cousins played well over the first nine games of the season, including setting a single-game franchise record of 509 passing yards against the Bucs. Then, he hurt his arm and wasn't the same. The problem with the injury uncertainty is if the team knew how severe it actually was, Penix might have replaced Cousins earlier, and the team might have found a way to end its playoff drought.
The Falcons have three options: trade Cousins, release him or have him back up Penix. They would rather get something in return if they part ways, because in either of these scenarios they'll be eating a ton of dead money. But Cousins has a no-trade clause, so he would need to buy in to any trade idea. It seems unlikely they'll keep him. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Falcons are expected to release Cousins before March 17, when his $10 million roster bonus is due.
If Atlanta cuts Cousins before the start of the league year (March 12), the team would get hit with $65 million in dead money, coming from his fully guaranteed base salary of $27.5 million and $37.5 million in remaining proration, per Roster Management System. If they do it with a post-June 1 designation, the dead money would spread over the 2025 and 2026 season -- $40 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026.
Invest in a pass rusher
The Falcons won't have a ton of cap room. Roster Management System currently lists them as being almost $13 million over the cap. So, this might require some creativity. But there might never be a better chance for Atlanta to get its first true All-Pro level pass rusher since John Abraham.
Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, the Dallas Cowboys could make Micah Parsons available in a swap and Trey Hendrickson wants out of the Cincinnati Bengals. It doesn't seem as likely now with the team's new leadership, but Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders could also split.
Acquiring any of those big names would require draft capital, contract restructuring of current players, some releases and maybe another trade. But Fontenot is always willing to be aggressive and do something unconventional if he and the team believe in a player. That's how Penix ended up in Atlanta at No. 8 overall when everyone thought the Falcons were making a huge mistake.
The Falcons also figure to take a pass rusher with the No. 15 pick in April, whether that be someone like Tennessee's James Pearce Jr., Marshall's Mike Green or the rapidly ascending Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M.
Khalil Mack is also available as a free agent, though he's 33 years old.
Re-sign center Drew Dalman
Dalman is a free agent who missed eight games with a high-ankle sprain this past season. Ryan Neuzil did a very solid job spelling him, but when Dalman returned in Week 13, the Falcons rushing attack got significantly more potent.
With Neuzil at center, Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson had a rush EPA of 3.7. When Dalman returned, Robinson's rush EPA shot up to 12.7 over the final six weeks of the season -- the best mark in the entire NFL.
The offensive line, led by three-time Pro Bowl right guard Chris Lindstrom, has been a strength of the Falcons over the last few years and continuity is important. Dalman is close with his linemates off the field and has chemistry with them on it. He's also still only 26 years old. Bringing him back should be a priority.
Get cornerback A.J. Terrell some help
Terrell was a blanket at cornerback, putting in his best season since 2021. But, despite the presence of one of the best safeties in the league in Jessie Bates III, Atlanta's secondary struggled for much of the year. The Falcons allowed the highest opponent quarterback completion percentage in the NFL (69.9%) and the third highest pass EPA (55.2).
While Terrell can corral a team's best wide receiver, he needs some help. The Falcons figure to draft a defensive back early -- perhaps even in the first round depending on who is available -- and adding someone like free-agent Nate Hobbs from the Raiders would be beneficial. Hobbs can play on the outside and also in the slot. Falcons No. 2 corner Mike Hughes and nickel corner Dee Alford are both free agents.