Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Sam Darnold

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.

Friday, January 16, 4:28 PM

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the team is "really optimistic" that quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique) "is going to be able to play" in Saturday night's Divisional Round game against the visiting San Francisco 49ers, according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Macdonald said there's a possibility that Darnold's oblique injury limits him physically, but he also said that Darnold is confident he'll be able to operate normally. The 28-year-old signal-caller felt something in his oblique in Thursday's practice and shut it down early, and he's officially questionable to play this weekend. Darnold became the only QB in history to lead two different teams to 14-win seasons in back-to-back years. However, in two games against the Niners this year, he hasn't gone over 200 yards passing and hasn't thrown a TD pass. With an injury to boot going into the playoffs, we wouldn't blame fantasy managers for passing on Darnold.