Falcons' Kirk Cousins move will make divorce a lot easier

Veteran Kirk Cousins would serve as the starting quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons if the club had to play a game this coming weekend. 

It now appears the two sides could part ways before the winter comes to an end. 

What reworked deal means for Falcons, Kirk Cousins

ESPN's Field Yates revealed on Tuesday afternoon that the Falcons and Cousins reworked the final two years of the four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed the signal-caller signed back in March 2024. The agreement now includes $67.9M in guaranteed money for the 2027 season that vests on March 13 of this year. 

The restructure means the Falcons will likely either work out a new contract to keep Cousins on the roster or release him via a post-June 1 designation to spread out the remaining salary-cap hits attached to his deal over 2026 and 2027. The Falcons dismissed head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot after their 2025 season ended. It's unknown if team owner Arthur Blank would want a new regime to keep Cousins around.

The Falcons could also allow Cousins to explore a trade to a different team that would need to sign him to an amended contract. Cousins' existing deal includes a no-trade clause.

Cousins' relationship with the Falcons seemingly changed after the franchise surprisingly selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 draft. The Falcons benched Cousins in favor of Penix when the team was 7-7 back in December 2024, and Penix entered this season as the club's QB1.

However, it was learned this past November that Penix needed surgery to repair a partially torn ACL. His status for the start of the 2026 season is uncertain. 

As for Cousins, he went 5-2 as Atlanta's starter over the final seven weeks of the campaign. In total, the 37-year-old tallied 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions over those outings. 

Would Kirk Cousins agree to stay with Falcons for start of 2026 season?

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Cousins was recently asked if he thinks he has played his final game as a member of the Falcons. 

"Hard to know. Hard to know," Cousins responded at the time. "I would like to keep playing, but we’ll see how things play out in March or even after that. ...I would love to be back here. We’ll see how things play out. At this point, just see how it goes."