Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Brock Purdy

Tuesday, January 6, 12:56 PM

The Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Kirk Cousins agreed to tweak the final two years of the QB's contract on Tuesday, setting the stage for a decision on his future to be made by the third day of the new league year on March 13, a source told ESPN's Field Yates. Cousins now has a guarantee for $67.9 million for the 2027 season that will vest on March 13. The restructure also includes reducing Cousins' 2026 base salary from a non-guaranteed $35 million to just $2.1 million. Atlanta's front office is in flux following the firing of general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday, but the Falcons could still move on from Cousins before March 13 as a post-June 1 release. A release of that kind would split the dead money on Cousins' contract over 2026 and 2027, as opposed to the team taking on the full amount in 2026. The 37-year-old played in 10 games this season, including starting the final seven following Michael Penix Jr.'s season-ending knee injury. Cousins was serviceable, throwing 10 TDs and five interceptions, but he probably isn't in the team's long-term plans at the position.

Monday, January 5, 3:32 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (neck) "checked out good" after suffering a stinger on the final play of the game on Saturday night in the Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and should be full-go for Wild-Card weekend on Sunday versus the Philadelphia Eagles, according to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he expects Purdy to practice in full this week and play on Sunday in Philly. The 26-year-old finished the year strong for his fantasy managers with 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in Weeks 15-18, but he was shut down by Seattle last weekend and threw for just 127 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Purdy played in only nine games in 2025 due to a turf-toe injury, but he was incredibly efficient when on the field. He'll have another tough challenge on his hands in the first round of the playoffs against an Eagles defense that allowed the second-fewest fantasy points per game to QBs over the final five weeks.