Hiring of Kevin Stefanski could change Falcons' Kirk Cousins plans

Per previous reports, the Atlanta Falcons restructuring the contract for veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins essentially guaranteed that the club will release him before $67.9M in guaranteed money for the 2027 season vests on March 13 of this year.

However, it appears the situation may have changed after the Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach. 

Recently, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN spoke with league executives, coaches and scouts about their "bold predictions" for the NFL offseason. One of those predictions involved the Falcons entering September with Cousins on the roster and atop the depth chart. 

Will Kevin Stefanski convince Kirk Cousins to stay with Falcons? 

"[The Falcons] bet on [Michael Penix Jr.] not getting hurt, and he got hurt," one unnamed NFC executive told Fowler. "They are going to need somebody early in the season due to the injury, and Cousins played OK for them late last year. It seems Cousins has always respected Kevin. Both sides have a decent option in their back pockets."

Penix needed surgery this past fall to repair a partially torn ACL, and his status for the start of the 2026 season is up in the air. Meanwhile, Cousins first had Stefanski as a quarterbacks coach and then as an offensive coordinator when the two were with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 and 2019. The relationship they developed over that time was one reason some linked Cousins with the Cleveland Browns from late 2024 through last summer, when Stefanski was Cleveland's head coach. 

Why Kirk Cousins may turn Kevin Stefanski down

"Cousins might want out after two years of uncertainty in Atlanta, and he has a mechanism to make that happen with the contract revision," Fowler added. 

It's no secret Cousins wasn't thrilled that the Falcons selected Penix with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 draft shortly after Cousins signed a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed to leave the Vikings for the Falcons. Fowler is among those who have suggested that Cousins could look to return to a Minnesota team that isn't committed to keeping J.J. McCarthy as its starter this winter. 

That said, it seems some within the league believe Cousins may stick around to see if he can extend his days as an NFL QB1 while working with Stefanski.