Who Should I Start? Matt Ryan or Kirk Cousins

Sunday, January 4, 9:40 PM

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports that the Atlanta Falcons are "strongly" considering former quarterback Matt Ryan for a "high-profile" front office role with the team. Atlanta fired general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris on Sunday after the franchise completed its eighth straight losing season. Ryan quarterbacked the Falcons for 14 seasons from 2008 to 2021, winning an MVP award and leading his team to the Super Bowl in 2016. He has a borderline Hall of Fame resume as a player, throwing for over 60,000 yards and 381 touchdowns across 222 career NFL games. However, Ryan has zero front office experience, working as an analyst for CBS since leaving the NFL at the end of the 2022 season. It's unclear at this time whether Ryan would be the lead decision-maker with the Falcons if he and the team can reach an agreement.

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.