The Falcons’ recent restructure of Kirk Cousins‘ contract added further to the widespread expectation a release would be coming. New general manager Ian Cunningham confirmed as much on Tuesday. 
While appearing on 92.9 The Game, Cunningham said (via Josh Kendall of The Athletic) Cousins will be released on the first day of the new league year. That means the Pro Bowl quarterback’s Atlanta tenure will come to an end on March 11. Cousins was set to see his 2027 salary (inflated to $67.9MM) vest in full on March 13, but to no surprise that will not be the case. This pending post-June 1 release will generate only $2.1MM in cap savings while creating $22.5MM in dead money charges (which can be spread across two years).
Cousins is therefore on track to reach free agency just before agreements with suitors can be finalized. The 37-year-old wishes to continue his career, and it will be interesting to see how his market takes shape in the near future. Especially if Daniel Jones remains in place with the Colts, free agency will not offer much in the way of starting-caliber veterans at the QB position. Cunningham later said (h/t Kendall) the Falcons will not be re-signing Cousins at a reduced rate, something which would have given them insurance while Michael Penix Jr. recovers.
Penix has yet to receive a full endorsement from Atlanta’s new regime – including Cunningham, president of football operations Matt Ryan and head coach Kevin Stefanski – and his Week 1 availability is uncertain at this time. Penix has endured up-and-down showings while atop the depth chart early in his NFL career, and the former first-rounder has a long injury history dating back to his days in college. Once Cousins is off the books, a new deal in his case will be needed or Atlanta will be in the market for an experienced addition through free agency or trade.
For Cousins, meanwhile, a return to Minnesota will increasingly be something to watch for over the coming weeks. The possibility of a Vikings reunion has picked up steam in league circles recently, and it would of course fit on a number of levels. J.J. McCarthy has missed considerable time during his first two years in the NFL, and his level of play when on the field has left plenty to be desired. That has left Minnesota in the market for QB1 competition, and Cousins would be a familiar face for head coach Kevin O’Connell and Co. after playing with the Vikings from 2018-23.
The lack of a long-term commitment on the part of Minnesota helped lead Cousins to head elsewhere in free agency. His four-year, $160MM Falcons pact seemed to put him on track for multiple years atop the depth chart, but it was quickly followed by the Penix selection. Since then, speculation has lingered about when a parting of ways would take place and leave Penix in place as the clear-cut QB1 (or a passer set to compete with a new arrival for the starting gig). That time will soon arrive.
Cousins: ‘I like that!’. Dude played the league perfectly. 2 Franchise tags, & 2 fully guaranteed deals. Good for him.
I bet he will get 1 more chance to start as well. Dude has made $$ and you know how frugal he is, good for him.
In other news, water still wet.
Shouldn’t a team be blocked from designating a player as a post-June 1 release if it’s trying to avoid vesting in March? I think they should pick a lane. You shouldn’t be able to have your cake and eat it too. If you’re going to avoid the player’s contract vesting, you should have it count against your current year’s dead money. Otherwise he’s still technically part of the team so his contract should vest.
This is a pretty new rule actually, teams used to wait until June 1 to make the release and none of these vesting contracts existed. The vesting contracts started after they could make this designation, not before.
Now the team gets to avoid these vesting deals/early roster bonuses and the player gets to hit the market while free agency is still hot and teams still have cash. Everyone wins.
I see that the contract that would’ve vested would’ve been for the following year. That said you should be aware of all the conditions when you make the release. If you’re avoiding something, you should pick your poison. Otherwise it’s like what NBA teams do to avoid giving up protected picks.
Yeah, but the rule for June 1 releases was altered a few years ago (I think like ten years ago or something), and the language in contracts made afterwards were written to account for this possibility.
I’m not talking about this specific contract per se, just saying that the way it was before the rule change was worse for both players and teams.
For the Cousins case specifically, he just worked with the team a couple of months ago to alter his deal so they could release him and he could sign somewhere else and obtain new guarantees. Cousins is a smooth criminal when it comes to maximizing his dollars.