Falcons Expected to Release Kirk Cousins Before New League Year Begins

The quarterback’s stint with Atlanta did not go according to plan.

Kirk Cousins couldn’t quite measure up to his past Pro Bowl ceiling with the Falcons. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After two years with the Falcons, quarterback Kirk Cousins is reportedly moving on.

Atlanta plans to cut Cousins before the start of the new league year on March 11, according to a Saturday afternoon report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Per Schefter, the move will allow Cousins “to choose where or if he wants to play in 2026.”

Cousins, 37, signed a lucrative contract with the Falcons before the 2024 season. Almost immediately, his future with the team was thrown into flux after Atlanta selected Michael Penix in the first round of the draft just a few weeks later. Cousins finished ‘24 with 16 interceptions in just 14 games, becoming the first Falcon to lead the league in that category since Bobby Hebert in 1996.

In 2025, Cousins stepped back into a starting role after Penix got hurt. He tossed 10 touchdown passes against five interceptions in 10 games. After the season, he took a temporary television gig with CBS.

The Michigan State product has reached four Pro Bowls—one with Washington and three with the Vikings.

On Jan. 17, Atlanta hired Kevin Stefanski—Cousins’s former offensive coordinator with Minnesota—as its head coach. The Falcons have not made the playoffs since losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in the divisional round in 2017.

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