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The Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Kirk Cousins reportedly agreed to modify the final years of his current contract, which will allow the team to decide on his future on March 13, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Field Yates.
"The Falcons and Kirk Cousins recently agreed to a modified final two years of his contract, setting March 13th up as a date to make a decision on the QB's future with the franchise by," Yates wrote on his X account.
The new agreement includes a guaranteed compensation of $67.9 for the 2027 season that vests on March 13, making it likely that a decision will be made prior to that date as teams would be wary of acquiring Cousins in a trade prior.
The restructure also includes a reduction of Cousins' 2026 base salary from a non-guaranteed $35 million to just $2.1 million, which equals the increase in his 2027 compensation split differently, but will not impact the guaranteed money he's already owed, according to Yates. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March 2024, which included $100 million guaranteed, just one month before the franchise selected former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with its first-round pick.
Cousins went 7-7 during his first season in Atlanta before being benched for Penix, who started the 2025 season and went 3-6 prior to a season-ending ACL injury. Cousins started in the Falcons' final eight games, going 5-3, and throwing for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions on 166 of 269 passing.