Falcons might use the Buccaneers as a way to get rid of Kirk Cousins

It's always a good time when you're able to laugh at the expense of a division rival, and that's exactly what some Atlanta Falcons fans were able to do after Tom Brady retired just last year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably saw it coming, but the team still had to figure things out after Brady's retirement cost them over $50 million in dead cap.

We'll come back to that in just a moment, but on a recent episode of the NFL Daily podcast, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Media and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic discussed some players who might potentially be on the move this year.

After a few discussions of other, more realistic scenarios, Rosenthal mentioned Kirk Cousins of the Falcons.

At first, it sounded absurd. But then, Rodrigue made some sense of the argument based on Atlanta's drafting of Michael Penix Jr.:

"What we're so hung up on, as we should be ... the Falcons paid Kirk. And so, you're like, 'well they paid Kirk. They wouldn't move on from Kirk. The money is the factor here.' But, they've shown they don't care about the money, because if they cared about the money, they wouldn't have drafted Michael Penix where they did.

"I'm not saying this is a thing. I'm just saying it's something to keep an eye on," Rodrigue went on. "And I don't think we can look at it through the framing of 'Well, the reason they would stick with him is because they paid him.' I think they already showed you they do not give a s--t about the money."

Bucs fans would lose their minds if this hilarious Kirk Cousins theory came true

Let's go back to the previous point made, quickly. Remember when the Buccaneers took on over $50 million in dead cap when Brady retired? Of course you do. It wasn't a fun place to be.

Yet, Tampa Bay was still able to make it work because of Baker Mayfield's career resurgence. Things worked in the Bucs' favor, but the Falcons have anything but a sure thing in Penix. We're talking about Atlanta putting all their chips in on a rookie rather than a veteran who can throw for 4,000 yards in his sleep.

That's a bold strategy.

Not to mention, the Bucs didn't have a choice. Brady retired, and that was that.

The Falcons have a choice. They can choose to keep Cousins around for a couple of years, which would be the smart thing to do. Or, they can quickly forget about their love for Kirk and shift gears completely, throwing Penix into the fire when it's too early.

Oh, and the Falcons would take on $90 million in dead cap space if they traded him this season ($65 million if traded in 2025).

Bucs fans are probably already laughing hysterically at the Falcons' decision not to play Penix in preseason games two and three. Raheem Morris is treating Penix as though he is an established veteran, when in reality, Penix needs the experience.

This is all hypothetical, we understand. But, Rodrigue makes an excellent point. We have to re-visit it, because it does make sense.

The Falcons do not care about the money. They proved it when they drafted Penix and shocked the football world. This is an example of a general manager doing what he wants to do, no matter what.

So, if Atlanta opted to trade Cousins mid-season, because maybe things aren't working out as well as they'd hoped, none of us should truly be surprised. When it's all said and done, the Falcons are playing by their own rules and ignoring common sense.