Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Brock Purdy

Thursday, January 9, 12:26 PM

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said that the team is comfortable moving forward next year with quarterback Kirk Cousins as the backup to Michael Penix Jr. It's very unlikely that Cousins will be in Atlanta next year as a backup with a $40 million salary cap hit. The more likely outcome this offseason is that the Falcons end up trading Cousins to a team looking for a veteran QB while they find their signal-caller of the future in the draft. If Cousins were to be cut before June 1, he'd carry a $65 million cap hit for 2025. The 36-year-old is also due a $10 million roster cut on March 17, so if he's not traded, Atlanta is expected to cut him before then. Cousins was benched for Penix in Week 16 and ended up being a bust after signing a four-year, $180 million deal last offseason. The four-time Pro Bowler threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and a league-high 16 interceptions in his 14 starts.

Monday, January 6, 6:16 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said he would like to have a long-term contract extension done sooner than later this offseason so that he can participate in full for the offseason program. "I want to obviously get it done. If that's an opportunity to be able to get that done quick, that'd be great. Just so we can get back for phase one," Purdy said. If how the 49ers have handled contract extensions with their star players recently is any indication, Purdy is likely to get his hopes up. However, the QB position is the most important when constructing a football roster, so perhaps the 49ers' decision-makers will find more urgency with Purdy's situation. Although the 25-year-old took a step back after his 2023 breakout, he was also without key offensive weapons for long stretches. Although it may not come quickly, San Fran is expected to get something done with Purdy this offseason.