The writing has been on the wall surrounding Kirk Cousins' future with the Atlanta Falcons for weeks now to the point that the Kevin Stefanski hire won't even change that. Their history in Minnesota won't change the fact that Cousins won't be in Atlanta next season since he's an obvious cap casualty.
The Falcons have been bracing for this move since they restructured his contract to move most of his 2026 cap hit to 2027, but now we know what to expect once the new league year rolls around, especially since the Dirty Birds will be forced to add a QB in some capacity behind Michael Penix Jr.
Falcons' QB Kirk Cousins is expected to be released, per @TheAthletic.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 29, 2026
Cousins will be 38 years old heading into his 15th season. pic.twitter.com/n2Yb0YDVNT
This report comes after an article from CBS Sports writer and ex-sports agent Joel Corry, which revealed that the purpose of the contract restructure was to designate the 37-year-old as a post-June 1 release, which will ensure that his guaranteed money in 2027 will never see the light of day.
"Cousins ' contract was reworked as the end of the 2025 regular season was approaching to pave the way for his release with a post-June 1 designation. His $35 million 2026 base salary was cut to $2.1 million freeing up $32.9 million of 2026 cap space. Cousins' 2027 base salary was raised by $32.9 million to $67.9 million and becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year (March 13)"Joel Corry
As expected, Kirk Cousins officially won't be suiting up for the Falcons in 2026
The four-time Pro Bowler will have plenty of suitors in free agency but it's no guarantee he'll even play next season. Being a backup behind a younger QB or starting with the New York Jets likely wouldn't be very appealing to Cousins, especially since he proved he can still start down the stretch of the year after Penix went down
If no options are appealing to him, he could follow in the footsteps of Falcons president of football Matt Ryan and pursue a career in TV. Now that Ryan is in Atlanta's front office, there's an open seat on The NFL Today that Cousins could fill as opposed to someone like Raheem Morris or Mike Tomlin.
Stefanski made it clear he believes in Penix in his opening presser, so it's not like the Michigan State product would have a chance to see the field with the Dirty Birds. It also seems like the 25-year-old will be back in time for Week 1 as his recovery from his ACL tear has gone better than expected.
There's always demand for an experienced, battle-tested QB like Cousins, but his best chance to start was in a training camp battle with Penix. There's a chance he ends up back in Minnesota to back up J.J. McCarthy, but unfortunately, there isn't as much starting interest as there was this time last offseason, so this could be his swan song.