The Atlanta Falcons are expected to move on from Kirk Cousins before the 2026 league year starts as the team will release him, Adam Schefter reports.
Cousins and the Falcons restructured his contract, modifying the final two years. They changed his 2026 base salary from $35 million to $2.1 million and added the remaining $32.9 million to his 2027 base salary to now make it $67.9 million.
That $67.9 million would become guaranteed if Cousins remains on the Falcons roster at the start of the league year in mid March.
Releasing Cousins allows the team to be fully committed to Michael Penix Jr. as the starting quarterback in 2026. Penix is currently recovering from a torn ACL, which he suffered in November, and is expected to be out 9-12 months.
Cousins, 37, completed 61% of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 games last season. With Cousins as their starter, the Falcons went 5-3.
The Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot last month after going 8-9 for the second straight season. Ryan led the searches that ended up hiring Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Ian Cunningham as GM.
