FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said the team is comfortable moving forward with Kirk Cousins as its backup quarterback, but will remain open for trade offers.

“We gave Kirk Cousins two years guaranteed,” Fontenot said Thursday, in his first public comments since Cousins was benched. “When you do that, you expect to get high-level quarterback play for two seasons. We understand that didn’t happen.”

Cousins had the Falcons off to a 6-3 start, but they lost four consecutive games. After Cousins played poorly in a 15-9 win over the lowly Raiders, he was benched in favor of Michael Penix Jr., who was the eighth player selected in the draft.

“Nobody was happy to make the switch at that time,” Fontenot said. “We all … wanted to get that high-level quarterback play for two seasons. Now, what happens is that we had to accelerate that plan and go to Mike earlier.”

Cousins signed a four-year contract worth up to $180 million. A total of $100 million was guaranteed in the first two years of the deal.

“Yet, the allocation at the quarterback position, the cap allocation, we’re eighth in the league,” Fontenot said. “That’s what we had planned for with Kirk as the starter. He’s not the starter any more, but we are very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup.”

Cousins spoke once after the benching and stated that he “didn’t forget how to play quarterback.” Over the final two weeks of the season, he was not available during the open locker-room periods.

“He’s handled himself extremely well through the entire process from start to finish,” Fontenot said. “From when he came in the building, in these adverse situations, that’s when you show your true character.”

The Falcons tampered to get Cousins and were fined by the NFL and lost their 2025 fifth-round draft pick. They clearly wanted to play at a high level for longer than nine games.

“Kirk is a great man,” Fontenot said. “He’s shown great support for Mike. Great teammate. Great support for everybody in the building. We are very comfortable moving forward with him as the backup.”

After the Falcons didn’t sign Deshaun Watson in the 2021 offseason, they quickly appeased quarterback Matt Ryan with a trade to the Colts.

“Every situation is different,” Fontenot said. “Specially regarding Kirk, again we’re very comfortable moving forward with him as a backup.”

It’s not clear if Cousins wants to be a backup.

“We’ll keep those discussions in private as we move forward,” Fontenot said. “But, I just want to be clear that we are very comfortable with him being the backup.”

The Falcons said they’ll listen if a team wants to trade for Cousins. However, the contract is virtually “untradeable” — much like Russell Wilson’s deal with the Broncos in 2024. Teams just waited for Wilson to be cut, and he signed with the Steelers.

“We’ll take those things as they come,” Fontenot said. “That’s a specific ... everyone would have to be good with it. His camp. His supporters. (His agent) Mike McCartney. Kirk Cousins. Us. The other team. There are a lot of layers to that.”

Also, Cousins has a no-trade clause.

“Again, private discussions that we’ll have,” Fontenot said.

Fontenot was asked if he regretted giving Cousins such a hefty offer in free agency, which may lead to a hefty dead-money salary-cap hit if the sides part ways.

The key date is March 12, when Cousins is due a $10 million bonus.

“We look at every transaction that we make,” Fontenot said. “We are always looking to learn and adjust the process as we go. The reason that we made the decision. We know the cost of doing business at the quarterback position, but … (we) wanted to have high-level play at quarterback for two seasons, and we didn’t get that. We understand that.”

The Falcons were trying to use the Green Bay model, where the Packers drafted a quarterback while Brett Favre and then Aaron Rodgers were near the end of their careers. It was Rodgers in 2005 and Jordan Love to replace Rodgers in 2021. Both sat for three seasons before playing.

The Falcons wanted Penix to sit for two seasons before taking over.

“When you look at historically, first-round quarterbacks, it’s really hard for those guys when they have to play earlier and they don’t have to get the chance to sit behind not just anybody, but someone like Kirk Cousins,” Fontenot said. “So, they can learn all of the nuances and details of being a true pro.”

Cousins, who was coming off Achilles surgery, had his moments.

“We saw it in some games this year,” Fontenot said. “He broke a record on (a) Thursday night. He did some really good things, but it wasn’t sustained.”

Fontenot made it clear that Cousins was healthy. After the Saints game, Cousins was listed on the injury report with an elbow and shoulder injury. But it was an estimated report.

Cousins never appeared on the injury report after that. If the team claimed he was injured, they’d be in trouble with the league office over their injury reporting. The Falcons were fined last season over an injury-reporting issue around running back Bijan Robinson.

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