Falcons GM confirms Kirk Cousins will be released when free agency opens
Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday the team told quarterback kirk cousins they will release him when the new league year begins on March 11, clearing the way for the veteran to hit the open market at the start of free agency.
Cunningham delivered news at the scouting combine
Cunningham spoke about the decision at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis and on 92. 9 The Game, saying the team had given Cousins clarity. "What he’s done in his career, we owe that to him just to allow him some clarity going into free agency, " Cunningham said at the combine. On the radio he added that the Falcons have told Cousins they will release him when the new league year begins on March 11 and noted, "Obviously, the contract structure allows that to occur. "
Contract changes set up a March guarantee and a March 13 vesting date
The Falcons reworked Cousins’s deal to move the bulk of his 2026 salary into 2027 and created a vesting date of March 13 that would guarantee him $67. 9 million for the 2027 season. The rework also meant that his 2027 salary of $67. 9 million would be fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster by the third day of the new league year.
On-field record and recent Falcons seasons
Cousins played two seasons with the Falcons with mixed-at-best results after signing a $180 million contract about six weeks before the team drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in 2024. Penix won the job in 2025 before a season-ending knee injury made Cousins the starter again down the stretch. Over the past two seasons Cousins started 22 of 34 games and was 12-10 as a starter; he threw a league-most 16 interceptions in just 14 games in 2024. The 37-year-old is 88-77-2 as a starter with Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta.
Cap mechanics and roster implications
Designating Cousins as a post-June 1 cut is part of the Falcons’ plan to manage salary-cap consequences: it will allow the team to spread his remaining cap hit over the next two years. The move will allow Cousins to hit the open market at the start of free agency, and Cunningham said making the timeline public lets teams that need quarterback help know he will definitely be available so they can make plans accordingly.
Kyle Pitts to be franchise tagged
Cunningham also confirmed the Falcons plan to place the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts to keep him from becoming a free agent. Pitts, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, had a career-high 88 receptions and five touchdowns last season; his 928 receiving yards were the second most among all NFL tight ends. The franchise tag value for tight ends this year is expected to be about $16 million.
The next confirmed milestone is the start of the new league year and free agency on March 11, when the Falcons have said they will make Cousins a free agent and when the team will proceed with the roster and salary-cap moves Cunningham outlined.
