The Atlanta Falcons haven’t done much but lose this offseason. Their main objective was to move Kirk Cousins, but that quickly became impossible when the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers as their temporary quarterback.
“With Rodgers going to the Steelers, Cousins is left without a viable destination to satisfy his goal of being a starting quarterback in 2025. Thus, Cousins will be forced to play the waiting game—perhaps until training camp, the preseason, or into the regular season—and monitor the health of quarterbacks around the NFL,” Sports Illustrated’s Daniel Flick wrote.
With Atlanta losing out on trade options, they are now stuck holding Cousins’ $27.5 million guaranteed salary for the upcoming season. That’s where they really become the losers in this deal.
“That stinks for Cousins, and the Falcons may not be too thrilled about running out of trade options either. While Atlanta has said it is ‘comfortable’ keeping Cousins around as its backup, general manager Terry Fontenot can't be eager to hand out a $27.5 million salary to his QB2,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote.
After trading Jalen Ramsey, the Falcons’ pursuit for someone to pair alongside AJ Terrell at cornerback was solidified.
“Ramsey and Jaire Alexander both off the market certainly leads one to believe the Falcons' cornerback room is mostly set for 2025,” Flick wrote.
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However, they could have added a cornerback previously coached by new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
“The Falcons know they have one of the game's top cornerbacks in A.J. Terrell. Last year, they complemented him most of the year with veteran Mike Hughes. Hughes played well enough to land a three-year, $18 million extension, but they shouldn't have stopped there. D.J. Reed should've been aggressively pursued to help round out their cornerback position,” Blogging Dirty’s Grayson Freestone wrote.
Reed ended up signing with the Lions, but he would have been a great addition to the secondary alongside Terrell. The Falcons have had a lot of swing and misses this offseason, and missing out on Reed only continues that trend.