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Why Mike Mayock can see quick success from Kevin Stefanski with Falcons (1:09)
Mike Mayock joins Rich Eisen and offers his assessment of the situation Kevin Stefanski is in with the Falcons. (1:09)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is expected to be released before the start of the new league year in March, allowing him to choose where or if he wants to play in 2026, league sources told ESPN.
The Falcons recently restructured Cousins' contract with the idea that it would be easier for both sides if the four-time Pro Bowler was released sooner rather than later, giving Cousins the optionality that he wanted and adding financial flexibility for Atlanta.
Cousins and the Falcons modified the final two years in his contract, changing his 2026 base salary from $35 million to $2.1 million but adding the leftover $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.
Atlanta therefore is expected to release him, allowing Cousins to be a free agent yet again. Few players have fared better in free agency than Cousins, who has landed deals from both the Falcons and Minnesota Vikings in recent years that are virtually fully guaranteed.
Cousins would like to play next season but also has dabbled in television, appearing on CBS' pregame show during the postseason. TV is expected to be an option for Cousins, as is retirement. But he also will be fully open to finding the right opportunity with another NFL team in need of quarterback help.
Releasing Cousins would further open up the quarterback position in 2026 for the Falcons, whose new regime has not yet committed to Michael Penix Jr. as the starter.
Penix is recovering from surgery to repair a torn left ACL, which he suffered in November, and is expected to be out nine to 12 months.
Penix said in several interviews last month that he believes he will be back for the 2026 season opener, but Falcons president of football Matt Ryan said last week that the new front office would have "a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster," when asked about the quarterback position.
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 general manager.
ESPN's Marc Raimondi contributed to this report.
