NFC South

The Atlanta Falcons appear unlikely to simply release Kirk Cousins, even though they're rolling with Michael Penix Jr. as their starter. The Falcons would undoubtedly prefer to trade him, since cutting him would cost the team an additional $10 million in 2025 cap space. Atlanta is reportedly willing to pay Cousins to ride the bench if it comes to that.

"At this point, the Falcons maintain that they're comfortable with Cousins as a $27.5 million backup," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote on May 14.

However, Cousins' contract includes a no-trade clause. If he refuses to waive it, there could come a point where he becomes too much of a distraction for Atlanta to justify keeping behind Penix. Cousins could also consider restructuring his contract to save the Falcons money and facilitate his release rather than waiving his no-trade clause and costing his next team draft capital.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported back in early April that Cousins preferred to be released rather than traded.

In the wake of drafting edge-defenders Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen , the Carolina Panthers have already released Jadeveon Clowney. D.J. Wonnum, who is entering the final year of his contract, could be next.

Wonnum was solid last season, notching four sacks in eight games following an offseason of quad surgeries. However, the Panthers added Scourton, Umanmielen and free agent Patrick Jones II (7.0 sacks in 2024) to the edge rotation this offseason. Cutting Wonnum would save $7 million in cap space.

The New Orleans Saints used a 2022 first-round pick on offensive tackle Trevor Penning, but they haven't seen the Northern Iowa product emerge as a reliable starter. Roughly three years later, it could be time to pull the plug on the Penning experiment.

Penning came into the league with intriguing upside—he was the 29th-ranked prospect on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's final draft board —but he's made just 12 starts in three seasons. After using first-round picks on Taliese Fuaga and Kelvin Banks Jr. in consecutive years, New Orleans may simply want to move on from Penning.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance on Sterling Shepard last offseason, reuniting him with college quarterback Baker Mayfield. While the 32-year-old largely served as a tertiary target, he did have an impact on Tampa's playoff campaign.

Shepard caught 32 passes for 334 yards and a touchdown in 14 games.

While Tampa re-signed Shepard this offseason, they also used a first-round pick on Emeka Egbuka and drafted Tez Johnson in Round 7. If Chris Godwin is fully recovered from last year's season-ending ankle injury, Shepard could be expendable. Tampa would save $1.7 million by releasing him.