Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Caleb Williams

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.

Tuesday, January 21, 1:29 PM

The Athletic's Dan Pompei believes that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson will likely empower quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second year in the NFL after an up-and-down rookie campaign. Johnson gave QB Jared Goff authority with protection adjustments that not all signal-callers have while serving as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, in addition to eliminating plays that Goff didn't like. Johnson was also a big proponent of going for it on fourth down, so the Bears offense should be much more aggressive under Williams in 2025. It's the main reason why Johnson was Chicago's top pick to be their next head coach. Despite plenty of weapons on offense in 2024, Williams was one of the worst downfield passers in his rookie season and had a 62.5% completion percentage to finish as the QB16 in fantasy. The addition of Johnson will surely make Williams a popular breakout candidate in 2025.