Kirk Cousins, James Cook Among Prominent NFL OTA Absences

The Atlanta Falcons started offseason workouts with Kirk Cousins at home as his career appears to be in purgatory. 

The quarterback was one of a few noticeable absences across the NFL on Tuesday as he missed the first day of organized team activities, commonly known as OTAs, the voluntary workouts that precede training camps.

Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons a year ago only to see the team draft Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. a few weeks later. Penix sat behind Cousins the majority of the season before replacing him as the starter in December.

Cousins has asked for a trade or release but the Falcons are “comfortable” with him as a backup, according to ESPN, because they have to pay his salary either way.

While the Falcons are open to trading Cousins and his massive contract, he doesn’t have much of a market. On Sunday, ESPN reported that the Steelers view Cousins as a backup option in case Aaron Rodgers—the team’s top choice at quarterback—retires. No reason was given for Cousins’ absence, but a possible trade would be one reason for it. 

OTAs are still voluntary. The Falcons’ next mandatory workout is June 10. Cousins was among several big NFL names absent on Tuesday.

Haason Reddick, Buccaneers

Fewer players are as experienced in holdouts than Reddick. After being traded by the Eagles to the Jets ahead of the 2024 season, Reddick gave his introductory press conference and then did not step foot in the Jets facility again for months over a contract dispute. 

Reddick held out of training camp and requested a trade in August, which the team did not grant. The linebacker missed the first six games of the regular season and accumulated $9 million in fines before returning to the team after a reworked contract and being dropped by his agents. 

Reddick signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers in March, but was nowhere to be found Tuesday. 

“I’m sure one of these days we’ll see him,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday. 

James Cook, Bills

Cook is in the final year of a four-year rookie contract that will pay him $5.2 million this year and is seeking a new deal.

A second-round pick in 2022, Cook recently went on Instagram and pinned a comment that said “15 mill [per] year” indicating his asking price. In 2024, Cook ran for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns, the latter of which tied a franchise-record and led the NFL. 

The Bills will hold a mandatory minicamp from June 10–12 and general manager Brandon Beane has repeatedly said the 25-year-old will be ready for the start of the season. 

Others

Kyle Pitts (Falcons), TJ Watt and DK Metcalf (Steelers) were other notable absences on Tuesday. In March, Metcalf was traded by the Seahawks to the Steelers and reportedly agreed to a new five-year, $150 million contract extension. Pitts is in the final year of a four-year, $33 million contract while Watt is entering the final year of a four-year, $112 million contract.