With two days until the start of free agency, Atlanta Falcons fans want to know where Kirk Cousins will end up.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons at this time a year ago but the relationship lasted just 14 games until he was benched for Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons are expected to either trade or release Cousins before a $10 million roster bonus is due on March 17, but general manager Terry Fontenot has remained insistent the team is happy keeping Cousins as a backup next season.
The reality is Cousins would be a high-priced backup with a $40 million cap hit. With the Falcons sitting $5.2 million over the salary cap, trading or releasing Cousins seems like the end game and another surprising NFC contender may have emerged for his services.
Vikings Could Pursue Kirk Cousins If He’s Released By Falcons
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and had an interesting prediction where Cousins could end up. While he discussed the effect that Sam Darnold would have on the quarterback market, he also speculated that Cousins could return to the Minnesota Vikings to be the backup to J.J. McCarthy.
“J.J. is going to be the starter, but you have to have some veteran insurance there,” Jeremiah said. “...I just thought it was a unique opportunity for somebody who…knows the offense inside and out. Atlanta’s footing the bill. So it’s going to cost you next to nothing. He can literally play for the league minimum, like Russell Wilson did last year. So that’s why I thought it was a fascinating one.”
"If one of these teams is willing to commit to Sam Darnold for longer than the Vikings he's gotta do it..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 7, 2025
Kirk Cousins going back to Minnesota as a backup would be a unique opportunity and it would cost the Vikings next to nothing"@MoveTheSticks #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LOvSRxKDJG
Bringing back Cousins could be appealing to the Vikings. A six-year starter in Minnesota, Cousins is familiar with the area and saw plenty of success, throwing for 4,000 yards four times and 30 or more touchdowns three times during his tenure. He also spent two years with head coach Kevin O’Connell and was playing some of his best football in 2023 before he went down with a season-ending Achilles injury.
The Vikings would also benefit thanks to the offset language in Cousins’s contract, that leaves the Falcons on the hook for whatever he doesn’t make with his new team. Wilson had similar language in his contract after his release from the Denver Broncos last offseason and signed a $1.21 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, forcing Denver to pick up the rest of his $39 million guaranteed salary.
A cheap backup solution sounds like a dream for the Vikings, but there are hurdles. Atlanta has to release Cousins for it to happen and the 36-year-old left Minnesota in part because the Vikings were open that they were going to select his replacement in last year’s draft. Cousins also sounds like he’s focused on being a starter again after insisting that shoulder and elbow injuries led to his late-season decline in 2024.
The Vikings also wouldn’t be able to trade for Cousins with just four picks in this year’s draft. With a preference to build a roster around the quarterback – whether it be Darnold or McCarthy – the Vikings likely wouldn’t want to take on Cousins’s contract unless the Falcons ate a significant portion of the $117.5 million remaining on his contract.
Maybe Cousins has a change of heart and returns to the place where he is most known (and made the most money) during his career. But Atlanta may have to look somewhere else if they’re looking to salvage something for a costly divorce.