It might be getting overshadowed by the Atlanta Falcons' front office overhaul, but Kirk Cousins' future in Atlanta is very much up in the air. Despite leading the Falcons to a 5-2 record down the stretch, Cousins' hefty contract situation has the writing on the wall surrounding his Falcons' future.
The 37-year-old was slated to make $57.5 million in both 2026 and 2027, but ESPN's Field Yates reported that Cousins and the Falcons agreed to modify the final two years of his contract, which will set up a massive decision for the new front office once the new league year rolls around this March.
Instead of paying him a base salary of a non-guaranteed $35 million in 2026, he'll make just $2.1 million next season. However, the restructure also comes with a vesting guarantee of $67.9 million for the 2027 season that will kick in on March 13, which is also the third day of the 2026 league year.
Kirk Cousins and the Falcons finally agreed to restructure his contract
The reworked contract won't affect any of the contract guarantees for the four-time Pro Bowler, but it gives the Dirty Birds some much-needed financial flexibility that will be crucial given they have several key starters to retain in free agency, though Kyle Pitts and Kaden Elliss are the most notable.
If he's cut, the dead money will be split across the next two seasons as opposed to the Falcons taking on all of the dead money this league year. The salary flexibility created by this will also take shape on June 2, which makes it all the more likely that Cousins is cut as one of their two post-June 1 releases.
Across the last few weeks, it already seemed likely that the Michigan State product wouldn't be in Atlanta next season since his four-year, $180 million deal comes with an out this league year, but the break from his deal will now be far cleaner because of this restructured contract.
This now provides him an opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere, but a trade is highly unlikely since it would require another team to pay the entirety of his hefty guarantee come 2027, but only Arthur Blank and the new regime would be on the hook if he lands elsewhere this offseason.
Basically, instead of paying him an expensive base salary in each of the next two seasons, the difference was split to push all of the money back to 2027. This also pretty much confirms that Cousins won't be spending his 2026 season in Atlanta, which was the expectation anyways.
This is a bit of an odd restructure, but it is only beneficial because of the financial predicament the Falcons find themselves in (which is now improved for the new GM)—and the only way out with an opportunity to retain the key pieces was to take the risk on restructuring this deal.