After watching from the sidelines for the first seven weeks of the 2025 campaign, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins got his first chance to start under center for the Atlanta Falcons this season in a Week 8 matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, all Cousins did against the Dolphins was provide the Vikings with more evidence that they made the right decision during the 2024 offseason to move on from the veteran quarterback.
In an embarrassing 34-10 loss to a one-win Miami team, Cousins completed 21 of his 31 passes for 173 yards (5.6 per attempt), no touchdowns, and no interceptions, as Atlanta's offense only gained a total of 216 yards in the matchup.
The Falcons were hoping that Cousins could come in and play a solid game against a bad Dolphins team, and instead, it was Atlanta who looked like the worst team on the field this weekend.
Minnesota Vikings given more evidence that moving on from Kirk Cousins in 2024 was the correct choice
As Minnesota has been struggling with its own quarterback situation during the last few weeks, there were some who had tossed out the idea of the Vikings making a trade to re-acquire Cousins from the Falcons this year.
Well, after Sunday, it's safe to say that those suggestions are done being made, as the former Minnesota quarterback looks closer to retirement from the NFL than he does to getting another shot as a starter.
Cousins' current deal with Atlanta doesn't expire until 2028, but the Falcons can save $22.5 million in cap space by cutting him after this season. With him serving as the team's backup and the fact that he has a $57.5 million cap hit in 2026, the chances of him remaining with Atlanta after the 2025 campaign are extremely low.
Cousins will be 38-years-old by the time the 2026 season starts, and sure, it's possible that he could still sign with another team in the upcoming offseason to be their backup signal-caller. But if that's not something he's interested in, then there's a good chance that he could currently be in the middle of his final season in the NFL.