Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr

Tuesday, February 24, 5:56 AM

Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said that the team plans to release veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins on the first day of the new league year on March 11. If Cousins were on the roster for the start of the new league year, the Falcons would owe him $67.9 million guaranteed. It's highly unlikely that the Falcons will find a trade partner for Cousins before the start of the new league year. The 37-year-old veteran lost his starting job to Michael Penix Jr. (knee) late in the 2024 season and was the backup last year until Penix suffered a season-ending knee injury. In 10 games (eight starts) in 2025, Cousins completed a career-low 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions for Atlanta. The four-time Pro Bowler is nearing the twilight of his career, although he could have a chance to compete for a starting job in 2026, depending on where he lands in free agency.

Wednesday, February 25, 2:20 PM

There is a "strong belief" that former New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is "very serious" about unretiring and returning to the NFL in 2026, sources told Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. Carr's rights belong to the Saints, but Schultz writes that teams with winning aspirations "have real interest" in the former four-time Pro Bowler. The 34-year-old's retirement last offseason was a surprise, and now he's got the itch to come back now that he's fully healthy. The former second-round selection by the Raiders in 2014 out of Fresno State, Carr played in only 10 games for the Saints due to injury in 2024 and threw for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. His prime for fantasy purposes came from 2018 to 2021 with the Raiders, when he had four straight seasons of 4,000 passing yards. Carr could be in contention for a starting role in 2026 if he comes out of retirement, but it's a stretch to think he'll be much more than a low-end QB2 in fantasy if it ends up happening.