(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Falcons made perhaps the biggest splash of this offseason, landing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins on a 4-year, $180 million deal to complete an offense they believe was just a quarterback short of being great over the past two years.
While fans may be shocked by the headline of this article, no, Cousins is not the one taking a pay cut on that $180 million.
Per Mike Rothstein of ESPN via Kevin Knight on Twitter, backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke took a pay cut to remain with the team, thus reducing his 2024 salary cap hit from $9 million to $4.53 million.
#Falcons backup QB Taylor Heinicke officially took a pay cut to remain with the team, per @mikerothstein.
Heinicke’s 2024 cap hit was reduced to $4.53M from $9M.
— Kevin Knight (@FalcoholicKevin) April 2, 2024
It has to be tough to sell a pay cut to a guy backing up another guy who was just signed to a $180 million deal, but Heinicke did what it takes to remain on the team.
Atlanta also needed to prioritize keeping a viable backup quarterback, as Cousins is 35 and coming back from a torn Achilles.
Heinicke saw time in five games last year and completed only 54.4 percent of his passes for 890 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Heinicke’s best year was in 2021 when he threw 20 touchdowns in 16 games.
The Falcons need to squeeze every bit they can out of the salary cap, as Spotrac currently has them about $7 million under the cap, which puts them right up against the cap when factoring in the upcoming rookie class.
Atlanta went 7-10 last season after flopping back and forth between Heinicke and Desmond Ridder at QB, and with Ridder no longer in town, Heinicke has the backup QB job secured behind Cousins.
The post Falcons QB Has Agreed To A Pay Cut appeared first on The Cold Wire.