Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Gardner Minshew

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.

Thursday, November 28, 1:02 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders have placed quarterback Gardner Minshew II (collarbone) on injured reserve. Given that Minshew has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season, this is merely a procedural move. He finishes his age-28 campaign having completed 203 of 306 passes for 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also took 29 sacks and lost four fumbles. It's been a sloppy year under center for the Raiders, who have given snaps to Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder. Moving forward, Vegas intends to start O'Connell, whom they activated from injured reserve on Thursday. However, he's expected to be on a short leash with Ridder waiting in the wing.