With the dust settled following free agency and the draft, we have a clearer idea of where the Falcons stand heading into 2025.
However, questions remain. Here are the three most pressing.
What happens with quarterback Kirk Cousins?
After being benched for 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. late last season, Cousins reportedly requested a trade from Atlanta to an organization where he’d have a chance of starting this fall.
But he, and the Falcons, are running out of options. The Steelers are the only team in the market for a starting quarterback, and they appear to be waiting on free agent Aaron Rodgers to sign.
Other teams with unsettled quarterback situations, including the Colts, Saints and Browns, have already added to their QB rooms and don’t make much sense as landing spots, especially with Cousins’ $27.5M price tag.
The Falcons would likely need to eat some of his 2025 salary to make a trade palatable, but depending on what they get in return, it might be more advantageous to have a proven option as Penix’s backup should he falter.
Did the Falcons do enough to fix their pass rush?
Bullying works. Maybe too well for Atlanta.
After being widely ridiculed for neglecting to address their flimsy pass-rush during the 2024 NFL Draft, the Falcons doubled down on the position in the 2025 draft, selecting Jalon Walker (No. 15 overall) and James Pearce Jr. (No. 26 overall) after a stunning (and highly questionable) trade sending the team’s 2026 first-round pick to the Rams.
If Atlanta fails to pressure quarterbacks this season, it won’t be from a lack of trying.
Per Stathead, the Falcons haven’t had a player notch 10 sacks in a season since 2016, the league’s longest current drought. During general manager Terry Fontenot’s tenure (2021-present), Atlanta is the only defense with fewer sacks — an NFL-low 112 during that span — than passing touchdowns allowed (115)
But the thought that Walker and Pearce can immediately lead to higher sack totals is naive. Since 2012, only four defensive players selected in the first round (out of 205) have had at least 10 sacks as a rookie.
Nine-year veteran Leonard Floyd, who signed a one-year contract during free agency, will play a pivotal role in the Atlanta’s ability to generate pressure. Floyd has played in 116 consecutive games dating back to 2017 and has averaged 9.6 sacks per season over the past five seasons (2020-24).
While it might have better luck supplying pressure from the edge, Atlanta still lacks a strong interior pass rush. Questions abound over the team’s run defense, too, which could nullify the team’s edge-rush additions by keeping offenses out of third-and-longs and other obvious pass-rushing situations.
How hot is general manager Terry Fontenot’s seat?
Arguably, no general manager should be under more pressure in 2025. In four seasons as the team’s lead executive, the Falcons are 29-39. Fontenot has been responsible for some awful decisions, including selecting tight end Kyle Pitts at No. 4 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, signing Cousins to a four-year, $180M contract and trading next year’s future first.
If the Falcons fail to make the playoffs this season, which they have every year since 2018, owner Arthur Blank will likely be in the market for someone to clean up Fontenot’s mess.
