The Atlanta Falcons fell victim to the old John Madden adage this season. If you have two quarterbacks, you've got none.
Atlanta started the year with 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. and was forced to turn to veteran Kirk Cousins after the former fell victim to a partially torn ACL midseason. It felt like an extension of the previous campaign in which Cousins, who signed a lucrative four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons ($100 million guaranteed), was benched for Penix and fans had no idea which of the two would be the team's starter going forward.
Entering this offseason, more of that confusion seems inevitable, but a recent report by The Athletic suggests the Falcons have made a decision on which of the two they're keeping around. Cousins is expected to be released in March, which confirms the motives behind the team's move to restructure his contract earlier in January.
Falcons' QB Kirk Cousins is expected to be released, per @TheAthletic.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 29, 2026
Cousins will be 38 years old heading into his 15th season. pic.twitter.com/n2Yb0YDVNT
4 teams that should sign Kirk Cousins if he's released by Atlanta
At 38-years-old, Cousins is bound to have multiple teams interested in his services. There are plenty of QB-needy teams that should give him a call and he'll probably have to listen to offers from those where he wouldn't be the obvious starter.
Minnesota Vikings
Sure, a reunion might be awkward, especially with head coach Kevin O'Connell already committed to J.J. McCarthy as the team's QB of the future. But McCarthy was inconsistent at best last season and has suffered two major injuries in as many years.
O'Connell already let veteran backup Sam Darnold slip through his fingers and now he's in the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. It wouldn't be surprising to see him overcorrect and bring back Cousins as a safety net in the event the lights are still too bright for McCarthy.
Las Vegas Raiders
Expected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza could very well be thrown into the NFL fire in Week 1 but lately we've seen more teams let their rookie QBs take some time to adjust to the pros while a veteran on their last legs starts the year.
Cousins fits that bill and, if he plays well enough, he could hold on to the starting job for a significant number of weeks before Las Vegas' new head coach (whoever that ends up being) decides Mendoza is ready.
New York Jets
Yes, it's a very undesirable franchise to play for at the moment but the Justin Fields experience has not gone well. A change is needed under center and Cousins has shown he can manage a more than serviceable offense when called upon.
He'd likely need to take a team-friendly deal as Fields will be on the second and final year of his $40 million deal ($30 million guaranteed). That being said, he'd have a really decent shot at winning the starting job out of training camp and if not, get the nod once Fields inevitably plays inconsistently.
Pittsburgh Steelers
If new head coach Mike McCarthy can't convince Aaron Rodgers to put his helmet back on for one more run, he's going to have to bring in a veteran QB - even if the team drafts one - or hand the keys to backup Mason Rudolph. Cousins wants to play, he wants to be a starter and Pittsburgh would be his best opportunity to do both for most of, if not the entire, season.
McCarthy, having previously coached the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, should be very familiar with Cousins' resume. He's gotten plenty of first-hand experience facing him when he played for the then-Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. There should be no scenario in which his first call after Rodger's retirement isn't Cousins.