Kirk Cousins’ tenure with the Falcons is about to end — and one of the worst contracts in NFL history is about to be off the books.
The Falcons will release Cousins on the first day of the new league year, March 11, general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday as the NFL scouting combine kicked off in Indianapolis. He will become an unrestricted free agent.
“Out of respect for Kirk and Michael [Penix Jr.], felt like that was the right decision,” Cunningham said on 92.3 The Game.
After signing a four-year, $180 million contract to leave the Vikings in March 2024, Cousins earned $100 million for 22 starts (12-10 record) and 28 touchdown passes.
Kirk Cousins is expected to be released by the Falcons. Getty Images
The Falcons will carry his $24.6 million cap figure into June, and then the dead money will be $22.5 million in 2026 and $12.5 million in 2027, according to Spotrac. There are $10 million worth of offsets attached to the contract if he signs for that amount or more elsewhere.
Only six weeks after luring Cousins away from the Vikings, then-Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot drafted Penix with the No. 8 pick before Cousins made it to his first OTAs. It angered Cousins and created an awkward ticking-clock dynamic.
Penix eventually replaced Cousins for the 15th game of his rookie season, after Cousins’ hot start to the 2024 season faded while dealing with an injury. Cousins opened last season as the most expensive backup quarterback in NFL history before the oft-injured Penix was sidelined by a torn ACL (third time since college).
Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris were fired after last season, and Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski were welcomed. Stefanski was the Vikings quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator for Cousins’ first two seasons with the Vikings (2018-19) before he became the Browns head coach.
But any relationship between Stefanski and Cousins was trumped by the impossibility of Cousins’ contract. He would have been guaranteed $67.9 million in 2027 if he was on the Falcons roster March 13.
The Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. in 2024 — months after signing Cousins. Getty Images
Cousins, 37, immediately becomes an attractive option for a win-now team on a quarterback-barren free agent market. The Steelers, Vikings and Colts all fit the bill.
Cousins nearly signed with the Jets in 2019, but a lot has changed since then. What hasn’t changed is that the Jets still need a starting quarterback — unless the plan is to stick with Justin Fields — but they seem to be a long way off from contention.
The irony is that the Falcons won’t commit to naming Penix the starter in Year 3 as they search for a veteran who isn’t Cousins.
“I’m not big on giving out positions in February,” Stefanski said. “I think you guys know how I feel about Michael, and I’m excited about his trajectory. I also know he’s focused on his rehab, which is the right thing to do.”