Brutal Atlanta Falcons axe 12 in dramatic move but wait goes on over $180 million quarterback decision

The Atlanta Falcons are finetuning their plans for the 2025 NFL season – and have wasted little time.

Following their final NFL preseason outing against the Dallas Cowboys in which they suffered a 31-13 defeat on Saturday night, the Falcons released a list of 12 players of whom have been cut.

Amongst the names was Lamar Jackson – not the Baltimore Ravens quarterback – but a former Nebraska cornerback who would have harbored hopes of returning to an NFL roster but the Falcons join a list of five other teams to have cut the one-time Cornhusker.

Teams have until 4pm EST on Tuesday to trim their rosters to the required 53 players, and despite their early cull, the Falcons still have 24 more names to cut.

Perhaps the biggest – and most unexpected – name on that 12-man list was defensive lineman Morgan Fox.

The nine-year veteran, formerly with the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, has racked up a career total of 183 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 51 quarterback hits, 27.5 sacks and a safety.

His cut came as the biggest surprise, although he did have a quiet preseason account for the Dirty Birds, registering just four tackles including one for a loss.

Offensive lineman Jake Hanson was placed on injured reserve after going down with injury in Atlanta’s preseason finale against the Cowboys just weeks after signing with the team.

As he doesn’t carry a designation to return, Hanson will now be out for the entire regular season and can thus be considered the 13th cut by the Falcons.

Atlanta are expected to enter the 2025 campaign with Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback following him taking over the starting job from veteran Kirk Cousins back in December.

In his three starts last season, the then-rookie went 1-2, throwing for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Although the Falcons haven’t officially announced Penix Jr. as their starter, he has been listed ahead of Cousins on the quarterback depth chart.

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What this means for the future of the 37-year-old remains to be seen as it was only a year ago when he signed a four-year, $180 million deal to join Atlanta and he would be the most expensive back-up QB in the league.

Cousins admitted in the Netflix documentary that he would have thought differently about a move to the Falcons, had he known they would make the same move as the team he was at – that being the drafting of a rookie quarterback.

As things turned out the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy and he missed the entire season with a knee injury, Cousins started the first 14 games in Atlanta before Penix was given the job.

Rumors persist about a potential trade for Cousins, most recently – and unexpectedly – to division rivals the New Orleans Saints.

As it stands, the Saints have rookie Tyler Shough and second-year Spencer Rattler as their two choices for their starting quarterback, with New Orleans yet to announce who has earned the starting job.

According to Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay, the Saints could look to bolster their young QB room by pursuing an experienced veteran like that of Cousins, despite him being just two years removed from an Achilles tendon rupture.

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“While Penix could be the answer to the franchise’s quarterback woes, Cousins wasn’t and now finds himself as an exorbitantly priced backup,” Kay wrote.

“It’s an unfortunate situation for the Falcons, one that could require a trade with a divisional rival to clear up. The Saints are the most desperate team in the league for QB help right now.

“If New Orleans is willing to take on Cousins’ massive salary and give up an early-Day 3 pick, its quarterback situation could be dramatically improved.”

Realistically, Cousins best hope of a starting job is likely to be injury – either to Penix in Atlanta, or another contender who may be desperate enough to trade and keep Super Bowl hopes alive.

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