INDIANAPOLIS — The Kirk Cousins era is officially over in Atlanta.
The Falcons have informed the 14-year veteran that they will release him before March 13 and will not re-sign him this offseason, first-year general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
If the Falcons release Cousins outright, they would face a $35 million dead cap hit this season. If they designate him as a post-June 1 cut, the dead money hit would be split between $22.5 million this season and $12.5 million in 2027.
The Falcons’ intentions have been known since January, when they restructured his contract so that he would be due $67.8 million if he is still on the roster after the first day of the new league year. Making it official this week was done out of “fairness” to Cousins, who can now begin gauging the interest of other teams around the league. Cousins said last month that he wants to return for a 15th NFL season in 2026.
“Out of respect for Kirk and for Michael (Penix), it felt like that was the best decision and the timing was right to let (Cousins) know our intentions and our plans so that they could put a plan together for themselves,” Cunningham said Tuesday in an interview with 92.9 The Game. “I felt like we owed that to him and his rep to be able to have that clarity moving forward.”
Cousins led the Falcons to a 5-3 record in eight starts in place of the injured Penix this past season, but he finished the year 31st in the NFL in EPA per dropback (minus-0.02). His completion percentage (61.7 percent), passing yards per game (172.1) and yards per attempt (6.4) were all his lowest figures since 2013, his second year in the league.
After signing the richest total-value free-agent contract in NFL history before the 2024 season, Cousins was 24th in the league in EPA per dropback (0.02), 24th in touchdown passes (28), 29th in passer rating (87.2) and 15th in yards per attempt (7.2), according to TruMedia. He earned $100 million out of the contract’s total potential value of $180 million in his two seasons.
The move will leave Atlanta with just Penix under contract at quarterback for the 2026 season, and he is still rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered in Week 11.
“With Mike, we’re just really concerned about him and his health and making sure that he’s as healthy as possible going into OTAs and going into the season,” Cunningham said.