It is official. Kirk Cousins is leaving Atlanta. Falcons GM Ian Cunningham confirmed on “92.9 The Game” Tuesday morning that the organization will release Cousins on the first day of the new league year in March, making the 37-year-old quarterback a free agent for the first time since signing his blockbuster deal with the Falcons two years ago.
“Obviously, the contract structure allows that to occur,” Cunningham said on the radio. “Out of respect for Kirk and Michael, felt like that was the right decision.”
Two seasons. One hundred million dollars. Back-to-back playoff misses. And a first-round pick sitting on the roster in Michael Penix Jr., who was always going to make this ending inevitable.
How $100 Million Didn’t Save Kirk Cousins in Atlanta
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal with $100 million guaranteed when he left Minnesota for Atlanta in 2024. It was one of the most expensive quarterback contracts in NFL history.
The Falcons then used the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft to select Penix Jr. before Cousins had taken a snap in Atlanta, a sequence that told you everything you needed to know about how this story would end.
The Falcons never fully committed to Cousins as their long-term answer. The Penix pick made that plain. What followed was two seasons of uncertainty, a failed attempt to make it work, and now a formal confirmation on morning radio that the relationship is over.
Here’s how the NFL world reacted to Cousins getting released by the Falcons:
“Kirk Cousins getting $100 million for those two years in Atlanta is the biggest heist that city has seen since Outkast tried to push Idlewild on us,” wrote Ross Read on X.
Kirk Cousins made 22 starts for the Falcons.
He made $100 million in two seasons.
That’s $4.5 million per start 😳 pic.twitter.com/pzKLkjRgaD
— DraftKings Network (@DKNetwork) February 24, 2026
Warren Sharp shared this statistic to show how much Cousins has earned in his NFL career despite his poor record:
Most NFL Career Earnings:
- $403M – Matthew Stafford – 1x SB Champ, 7 playoff wins
- $395M – Aaron Rodgers – 1x SB Champ, 11 playoff wins
- $333M – Tom Brady – 7x SB Champ, 35 playoff wins
- $322M – Kirk Cousins – 1 playoff win
#Falcons GM Ian Cunningham on James Pearce, Kyle Pitts and Kirk Cousins. pic.twitter.com/hGKCArii7q
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoHU) February 24, 2026
Cunningham’s call to Cousins and his agent before going public is notable. “Out of respect for Kirk and Michael,” he said, making clear this was communicated directly before becoming a news cycle.
Where Does Kirk Cousins Go Now?
Cousins is 37 and entering free agency with a resume that includes four Pro Bowl selections, a decade as a starter, and the longest-running will-he-or-won’t-he relationship with the Minnesota Vikings in league history. A reunion in Minnesota has already surfaced as a topic of conversation in league circles. He is not walking into free agency without options.
The bigger question is what Atlanta does next. Penix Jr. is the presumptive starter, though the organization has not formally committed to him as QB1 while he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in November.
The Falcons spent a year letting Cousins play in front of him and now have a genuine rebuild window ahead. They owe Cousins nothing more after paying him everything they promised. Whether that investment ever made sense is a question Atlanta’s front office will spend the next several years answering.
