The Falcons are operating without a head coach or a General Manager after firing Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot at the end of the season, but they’ve still reportedly worked out a modified contract with quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Field Yates of ESPN.com reports that Cousins has agreed to a reworked deal that moves $32.9 million of his non-guaranteed $35 million salary from 2026 to 2027. They also added a vesting guarantee for the $67.9 million he’s now due in 2027 to March 13 of this year. Cousins still has a guaranteed $10 million roster bonus for 2026 in his current deal.
It’s unlikely that the Falcons or anyone else would pay Cousins that $67.9 million, which means he’d likely work out a new contract with the Falcons or have a deal in place with a team he agrees to be traded to — Cousins has a no-trade clause — at the start of the new league year.
Should neither of those things happen, the Falcons could release Cousins with a post-June 1 designation to spread out the remaining cap hit over the next two years. Lowering Cousins’ salary would allow the Falcons to realize more 2026 cap savings without waiting until June if he does wind up getting released.
More clarity on Cousins’ future in Atlanta should come once the team has hired the new decision-makers in the coming weeks.