Thirteen years, one playoff win and $293,969,288 after being drafted 102nd overall, Kirk Cousins has fetched the Vikings the 97th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. That’s what the league awarded the Vikings as a league-high compensatory pick for losing Cousins to Atlanta in free agency a year ago.

To begin this entire Falcons and Kirk Cousins debacle, every NFL insider expected the club to release the veteran before March 17, when a $10 million roster bonus for 2026 became fully guaranteed.

Count NFL Network's Ian Rapoport among those who do not believe the Atlanta Falcons will release Kirk Cousins in the coming days. He discussed the situation Wednesday and suggested Atlanta will hold onto him until another team may be in a more desperate situation and in need of a trade because of a quarterback injury.