Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Aidan O'Connell

Thursday, January 29, 3:55 PM

Atlanta Falcons veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has two years left on his deal, but he's expected to be released in early March after the Falcons restructured his contract so that he'll be owed $68 million if he's on the roster on March 13, according to The Athletic's Josh Kendall. Cousins could be released and re-signed on a less-expensive contract as the Falcons look for insurance at the position behind Michael Penix Jr. (knee). The 37-year-old QB started the final seven games in 2025 after Penix tore his ACL in Week 11. Cousins ranked 37th in the NFL in EPA per dropback and threw for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions in his 10 games (eight starts). Even though new head coach Kevin Stefanski has a previous working relationship with Cousins from their time together with the Vikings in 2019, the feeling is that Atlanta is ready to move on from him this offseason. Penix's recovery this offseason could be the determining factor in whether Atlanta brings Cousins back in 2026.

Wednesday, November 19, 3:15 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Wednesday that they activated quarterback Aidan O'Connell (wrist) from Injured Reserve. O'Connell has missed all of the 2025 season to this point after suffering a fractured right wrist in the preseason. It's possible that Geno Smith's poor play could open the door for O'Connell to make starts under center for the Raiders before the end of the year, but it's unclear if that's potentially in play as early as Week 12 when the team takes on the visiting Cleveland Browns this Sunday. Kenny Pickett has been serving as Smith's backup for the first 11 weeks of the season, but O'Connell could quickly jump him on the depth chart now that he's back. The 27-year-old has a 62.6% completion rate in his two years in the NFL, throwing for 3,830 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 20 games (17 starts).