The Atlanta Falcons are coming off a disappointing year. What started with high expectations under Kirk Cousins turned into an uncertain future with Michael Penix Jr. Heading into this offseason, their top priority should be to make life easier for their rookie quarterback but their salary cap situation makes things difficult.
The Falcons enter the offseason $11.1 million over the salary cap and that number could spike to $36.1 million if they move ahead with the expected release of Cousins. This means Atlanta will have to make other moves to get under the cap to surround Penix with talent.
While some moves are obvious, others will be difficult including the release of one beloved starter if they want to compete in 2025.
Falcons Must Release Younghoe Koo to Compete in 2025
Younghoe Koo has become a cult hero in Atlanta after coming over from the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019. The 30-year-old established himself as one of the league’s top kickers after making 23-of-26 field goals (88.5%) and 15-of-16 (93.8%) of extra points in 2019 and made the Pro Bowl the following year after leading the NFL with 37 field goals.
The success continued in Koo’s first four seasons with the Falcons. Only Nick Folk (90.7%) and Justin Tucker (90.3%) had a higher percentage than Koo’s 89.9% clip on field goals (min. 100 attempts) and only Tucker (158), Daniel Carlson (152) and Greg Zuerlein (152) made more field goals from 2019 to 2023.
But Koo’s success ran dry this past season, posting a career-low 73.5% field goal rate. While a right hip injury may have been the root of Koo’s problems, he’s also set to make $5.5 million next season – the 13th-highest salary among kickers for 2025.
This could be viewed as a modest cost and if Koo rebounds, it’s a small price to play for a player that’s under contract through the 2026 season. But the Falcons need to shed money somewhere and the Cousins contract gaffe puts them in a bind for next year.
