Kirk Cousins to be released by Falcons when free agency opens, GM says
The Atlanta Falcons have told kirk cousins they plan to release him when the NFL’s new league year opens on March 11, general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday, clearing the path for the veteran quarterback to enter free agency.
Kirk Cousins to be released when free agency opens
Cunningham made the announcement in two settings: at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis and on 92. 9 The Game. "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 92. 9 The Game, he added, "Obviously, the contract structure allows that to occur. "
How the contract was reworked and the March vesting date
The Falcons reworked Cousins’s contract to move the bulk of his 2026 salary to 2027 and created a vesting date that would lock in a $67. 9 million 2027 salary if he remained on the roster. That vesting point is described in the club’s discussions as the third day of the new league year and is cited elsewhere as March 13. Because of the timing, Cunningham said the team has told Cousins it will release him when the new league year begins on March 11; the structure allows the Falcons to designate the release in ways that affect cap treatment.
Cousins’ on-field numbers with Atlanta and his career totals
The 37-year-old Cousins has started 22 of 34 games over the past two seasons with Atlanta and went 12-10 as a starter in that span. He led the league with 16 interceptions in 14 games in 2024. Across his 14-year career, Cousins is 88-77-2 as a starter with Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta. He signed a $180 million contract with the Falcons about six weeks before the team drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in 2024.
Penix, the starting job and the midseason change
Michael Penix Jr. won the Falcons’ starting job in 2025, and a season-ending knee injury to Penix later made Cousins the starter again down the stretch. Cousins spent two seasons with Atlanta with mixed results before the team informed him of the impending release.
Cap mechanics, a post-June 1 designation and how teams are affected
Cunningham said designating Cousins as a post-June 1 cut would allow the Falcons to spread his remaining cap hit over the next two years. The move also guarantees that Cousins will be available on the open market at the start of free agency; Cunningham noted that the announcement lets teams looking for quarterback help know he will definitely be available and that will allow them to make plans with that in mind.
Falcons will place franchise tag on Kyle Pitts
The Falcons also plan to place the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts and keep him from becoming a free agent, Cunningham confirmed. Pitts, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, had a career-high 88 receptions and five touchdowns last season and totaled 928 receiving yards, the second-most among 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 on March 11, when the Falcons say they will make Cousins’ roster move and when the free-agency market will open for him and other players.
