Kirk

Cousins

Neither Brzezinski nor head coach Kevin O’Connell committed to J.J. McCarthy as the team’s 2026 starter following McCarthy’s ugly 2025 campaign. McCarthy, coming off a knee injury that wiped out his 2024 rookie season, ranked 39th out of 40 qualifying QBs in accuracy and 37th in drop backs success rate over ten games. O’Connell reportedly had to simplify the Minnesota playbook because McCarthy could not grasp the offense. “What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective,” Brzezinski said. “A lot of this has been J.J. in unfortunate [situations] with some of the injuries and things that he’s dealt with, but we’re going to explore every opportunity, and I don’t think there’s anything specifically we’re looking for.” The team’s firing of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last month might mean McCarthy’s time with the Vikings is all but over. Look for the Vikings to talk with Kirk Cousins in the coming weeks as the Falcons are expected to part ways with the former Minnesota starter. They could also show interest in Kyler Murray and Aaron Rodgers this offseason.

The move will be made on the first day of the 2026 NFL calendar year, according to Cunningham. This was all but confirmed last month when Cousins and the Falcons agreed to a contract modification that guaranteed he’d be gone ahead of the 2026 season. Cousins, 37, should see some interest from quarterback-needy teams in the coming months. Last year Cousins had a career-low 6.3 adjusted yards per attempt and 44.3 percent drop back success rate in five appearances (three starts) for the Falcons.

It sounds like Garafolo believes the Falcons could release Cousins, and then attempt to re-sign him to a more affordable contract. The Browns notably attempted to trade for Cousins last year, with new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanki then serving as the Browns’ head coach. Garafolo notes that there is expected to be “a lot of interest” in Cousins if he hits free agency. The Falcons probably need to lock in to a bridge quarterback with Michael Penix (knee) questionable to start the season after ACL surgery.

New Jets OC Frank Reich “has a close relationship with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni” and McKee “fits the physical mold of a Reich QB” per Rosenblatt. Rosenblatt also links the Jets to Geno Smith (if released), Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins. McKee would be an interesting trade target after a couple of spot starts in Week 18 the past few years. He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2026 and would probably cost the Jets at least a Day 2 pick, but it would undoubtedly be a higher-upside play than relying on Smith or Cousins.

The expected move will allow the veteran quarterback options as he decides on his next move. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert adds that Cousins is also weighing the opportunity to turn his attentions to broadcasting after dipping his toes in the discipline earlier this year. According to Seifert, Cousins “will be fully open to finding the right opportunity with another NFL team in need of quarterback help.”

The way the Falcons re-structured Cousins’ contract earlier in the offseason pointed to this, but Kendall also reports that Cousins could be brought back by the Falcons on a less-expensive contract. Cousins will likely have his share of suitors in the offseason despite entering his age-38 season, so it’s no lock he’d be back in Atlanta if released. Kevin Stefanski notably didn’t say much when asked about Cousins at his opening press conference earlier in the week.

Stefanski added that he thinks “you see a player on tape that can get through progressions, can layer the ball, can push the ball down the field” and said Penix is attacking his rehab from a late-season torn ACL. Stefanski was notably reluctant to dive into the future on Kirk Cousins, which could be read as a non-endorsement for his return. If Cousins doesn’t return, the Falcons may need a new bridge quarterback for the early season while Penix returns to the field. But with no first-round pick, it always made sense for the Falcons to give Penix the balance of the season to see what he could do. Alternatives with notably higher upside would appear hard to find in free agency or in the later rounds of the draft.

The adjustments mean Cousins could stick around Atlanta for another year or two depending on what the Falcons want to do at the QB position in 2026 and beyond. Cousins, 37, showed signs of life in the season’s final month after Michael Penix was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He had multiple touchdowns in three of his final four games and had two games of more than 230 passing yards in the run-first Falcons offense. The contract modification could also make Cousins a trade candidate if the Falcons choose to stick with Penix as the starter.

With their narrow victory that required corralling a late Saints onside kick attempt, the Falcons hand the NFC South title to the Panthers. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta all finished the season at 8-9, but the Falcons lacked the proper tiebreakers after going 3-6 in Michael Penix Jr.'s starts. That, of course, means they went 5-3 with Cousins, who more or less xeroxed his unimpressive 2024 rate stats, only this time with fewer interceptions. Going on 38, Cousins is guaranteed “just” $10 million next season with a $57 million cap number. His release would free up $22.5 million in cap space, but it’s not clear the Falcons will simply move forward with Penix as starter. That is probably the most likely outcome, however. Always a source of offseason intrigue, Cousins could get one last starting chance elsewhere, or perhaps end up in a “bridge plus” situation. Wherever he’s playing, he won’t be more than a streamer for fantasy purposes.

Cousins largely played facilitator as the Falcons rode alpha running back Bijan Robinson to glory, aided by a defense that generated three interceptions of MVP candidate Matthew Stafford, one of which was returned for a touchdown by rookie safety Xavier Watts. 229 of the team’s 345 yards of total offense were accounted for by Robinson, leaving little for Cousins to do as the team narrowly avoided a repeat performance of their Super Bowl LI loss to the Patriots. The Falcons led 21-0 at the half, only to see the Rams roar back in the final two frames to tie the game at 24 with just over two minutes left to play. They were able to maneuver into field goal range with their two-minute offense and kicker Zane Gonzalez connected from 51 yards to give the team the victory. Cousins and the rest of the starters end their season with a home game against the red-hot Saints in Week 18.