On Thursday night, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins did it again to the Buccaneers, beating them for the third straight time since signing with Atlanta. And it was another Thursday night masterclass, following last year’s franchise-record 509 passing yards with 373 and three touchdowns in a 29-28 win.
The latest string of Cousins starts wasn’t supposed to happen. He returned to the role of QB1 after the Falcons lost Michael Penix Jr. for the season. And while Cousins’s performances in seven 2025 games have been mixed, there’s something to be said for showing up under the lights against a team that is trying to win the division crown.
Here’s the question for Cousins and the Falcons. What happens next year?
Under the four-year deal Cousins signed in 2024, the Falcons owe Cousins $45 million in 2026. Already, $10 million of it is fully guaranteed.
It’s widely believed he’ll be released. With the guaranteed payment subject to offset, Cousins will likely make more than $10 million on the open market. Especially after Thursday night, during which he showed he still can perform at a high level. That would allow the Falcons to avoid the extra $10 million they’re already required to pay him on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
He has already earned a bronze bust in the broken-bank Hall of Fame, with $321 million in career earnings through 2025. And he has proven to be a shrewd businessman, even though his first foray into free agency was unavoidable; the Commanders were willing to tag him twice, but they weren’t inclined to offer him a commensurate long-term deal.
Cousins opted for the Falcons in large part because they put multi-year financial security on the table, with $90 million fully guaranteed over two seasons. (The Vikings wanted to go year to year.) With the Falcons unlikely to pay him another $45 million, which would push his three-year haul to $135 million, he’ll likely be a free agent, for the third time.
Cousins will be hitting the market at a very good time. The supply of veterans with starting experience won’t meet the demand. Someone will consider making a run at the 37-year-old.
Teams that will (or at least could) be looking for a potential QB1 include the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Bengals (if Joe Burrow’s recent comments portend an exit from Cincinnati), Colts, Raiders, Saints, and Cardinals.
Then there’s the Vikings, who need a viable veteran alternative to J.J. McCarthy, in the event the cork never comes out of the bottle for him. Would they want to bring Cousins back? Would he be inclined to return?
It’s also possible he’ll stay in Atlanta under a reworked contract, especially with the jury still out on Penix, the eighth overall pick in the 2025 draft.
However it plays out, Cousins will likely get paid out another sizable contract. While it surely won’t be market level, Justin Fields got $20 million per year from the Jets in 2025. That should be the floor for Cousins, who may eventually creep toward $400 million in career earnings.
Cardinals Clips
The Colts’ practice week has come to an end and head coach Shane Steichen is not ready to publicly announce a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
Via multiple reporters, Steichen did not say in his Friday press conference whether it will be Philip Rivers or Riley Leonard behind center to start in Week 15.
“We’re going to work through that right now,” Steichen said, via Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star.
Rivers, of course, signed to the practice squad this week after Daniel Jones went down with a torn Achilles. While Leonard has also been dealing with a knee injury, he’s been a full participant in practice this week.
Multiple reporters have noted that Rivers was the first quarterback up in drills during the limited portion of practice open to media, which suggests the 44-year-old QB will start Sunday.
Via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan, Steichen said Rivers’ week of practice was “pretty impressive to watch.” The head coach added that when it comes to Rivers’ readiness for in-game cardio, “You got to go out there and do it.”
Rivers has not played a game since the 2020 postseason — the lone year of his career with the Colts.
Leonard, a sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame in this year’s draft, would be making his first start.
Steichen did rule out cornerback Sauce Gardner, offensive lineman Braden Smith, and receiver Anthony Gould. Additionally, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner will not be activated this week.
The Cardinals will be without Marvin Harrison Jr. for at least another week.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon announced in his Friday press conference that Harrison is out for Sunday’s matchup against the Texans with his Heel injury.
This will be Harrison’s second game missed due to the heel injury, as he was also sidelined for last week’s loss to Los Angeles.
In 10 games this season, Harrison has 40 receptions for 594 yards with four touchdowns.
Additionally, Gannon noted left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (knee), safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle), cornerback Max Melton (heel), and safety Jalen Thompson (hamstring) will be out for Sunday’s contest.
The NFL announced Friday that the Bengals-Cardinals game in Week 17 will be played Sunday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
The game was originally scheduled as a TBD/flex game.
It is one of several schedule changes the NFL announced for the final weeks of the season.
The Bengals hold a 7-6 all-time edge on the Cardinals, and it marks the first time the Cardinals will play in Cincinnati since 2019.
The Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Bengals are close to being eliminated.
The Browns added a pair of players to their active roster on Wednesday.
They have signed running back Trayveon Williams off of the Chargers’ practice squad and tackle Jeremiah Byers off of the Cardinals’ practice squad. They did not need to make any corresponding moves after placing center Ethan Pocic and running back Jerome Ford on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Williams spent August with the team, but did not make the 53-man roster. He played in three games for the Chargers this season and appeared in 68 contests for the Bengals over the previous six seasons. He has 65 carries for 306 yards over the course of his career.
Byers was undrafted out of Florida State this year.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon provided an injury update for two key offensive players in his Wednesday press conference.
Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Texans after suffering a knee injury during the Week 14 loss to the Rams.
Additionally, running back Trey Benson will not be activated off of injured reserve after his practice window was opened. He will now miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Benson did not practice last week.
In his second season, Benson tallied 160 yards on 29 carries plus 13 catches for 64 yards in his four 2025 games.
It looks like the Cardinals will have to try to snap their five-game losing streak without the help of left tackle Paris Johnson.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Johnson has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL. Johnson left Sunday’s loss to the Rams as a result of the injury.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon did not have an update on Johnson’s outlook at his Monday press conference, but, per the report, he is considered week-to-week and is expected to miss some time before he’s able to return to action.
Rookie Josh Fryar stepped in for Johnson against the Rams and is in line to get the start against the Texans this Sunday.
The NFL has announced eight finalists for this season’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
A panel made up of former NFL players Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, Curtis Martin, and Leonard Wheeler chose the finalists after each team nominated one player for consideration. The award goes to the player that “best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, an integrity in competition.”
Cardinals safety Budda Baker has been selected as a finalist for the third straight season. Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David, Saints linebacker Demario Davis, and Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill are the other finalists from the NFC.
The AFC finalists are Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler, and Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Current NFL players will cast their votes for one of the finalists and the winner will be announced at the NFL Honors event during Super Bowl week.
The Cardinals started 2-0. It didn’t stay that way.
Arizona has now lost 10 of 11 games. The most recent defeat came in the form of a 45-17 blowout at home to the Rams. It was Arizona’s worst loss of the season.
With four games to play, it’s time to keep an eye on whether owner Michael Bidwill will make a move as to coach Jonathan Gannon. It would give the Cardinals a head start on their search, at a time when two teams (the Titans and Giants) are already searching.
Gannon gets it. He was asked about his job security three weeks ago, after back-to-back blowout losses to the Seahawks and 49ers.
“Yeah, not a controllable for me,” Gannon said at the time. “I didn’t hire myself. I’m not gonna fire myself, so, seriously, no, I know it comes up. That’s the business we’re in. If you don’t want to be in that business, we laugh, we joke, go work somewhere else. I’m going to control the controllables for myself. You know, come to work and do the best job that I can and try to get our team in position and win a game.”
The Cardinals haven’t won a game since November 3, on a Monday night against the Cowboys. That’s their only win since Week 3.
At this point, it’s hard to envision Gannon returning for 2026. If Bidwill already knows that, there’s no reason to delay the implementation of the decision.
After falling to the Panthers on the road last week, the Rams got right in a big way against a divisional opponent with a 45-17 victory over the Cardinals.
Los Angeles held a 24-10 lead over Arizona at halftime and scored 21 straight points to go up 45-10 early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Receiver Puka Nacua went off, catching seven passes for 167 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Nacua had 136 yards in the first half alone, displaying his dominance with several contested catches to get the Rams out ahead.
The L.A. run game was just as dominant, with Blake Corum and Kyren Williams creating a two-headed monster. The running backs combined for 212 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Corum led the way with a career-high 128 yards on 12 carries with two TDs, including a 48-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Williams took 13 carries for 84 yards with a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
After three giveaways last week, quarterback Matthew Stafford got back to his MVP pace in Week 14. Stafford finished the contest 22-of-31 passing for 281 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jimmy Garoppolo was inserted into the game early in the fourth quarter for mop-up duty.
Running back Ronnie Rivers also came in for mop-up duty in the fourth quarter, finishing the contest with 41 yards on eight carries.
In all, L.A. finished with 530 total yards, with 249 coming on the ground. It would have been over 250 if Garoppolo hadn’t taken three kneel downs to end the game. Los Angeles faced just one third down in the first half, with the Rams efficiently moving down the field to score on each of their four possessions in the first two quarters.
It was a historic offensive day for the Rams, who had three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. According to the FOX broadcast, it was the first time the Rams had done so in a road game since a 42-34 victory over the 49ers all the way back in 1954. ESPN noted it was generally the first time the Rams had done that since the heyday of the Greatest Show on Turf in 2001.
For the Cardinals, Jacoby Brissett finished the contest 25-of-44 for 271 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Receiver Michael Wilson had a big game, finishing with 11 catches for 142 yards with a pair of TDs.
Tight end Trey McBride also had five catches for 58 yards. According to the FOX broadcast, McBride tied the longest all-time streak for a tight end with his 15th consecutive game with at least five catches.
Now at 10-3, the Rams have regained the NFC’s No. 1 seed with Chicago’s loss to Green Bay. Los Angeles will be at home to face Detroit for a significant conference matchup next Sunday.
The Cardinals are now 3-10 and playing out the string. They’ll face the Texans on the road in Week 15.
