GREEN MAG

Kirk Cousins' time in Atlanta appears to have run its course.

Cousins is expected to be released by theFalconsbefore the NFL's new league year begins in March, a person close to the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

ESPN was the first to report the news.

Cousins' contract was amended at the end of the regular season to pave the way for his imminent release from the Falcons, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the of the sensitivity of the matter.

ESPN reportedthat Cousins and the Falcons modified the final two years in his contract, changing his 2026 base salary from $35 million to $2.1 million but adding the leftover $32.9 million to his 2027 base salary to now make it $67.9 million. The $67.9 million would become guaranteed if Cousins is still on Atlanta's roster at the start of the league year, per ESPN.

2026 NFL Honors: Best of the league's awards ceremony red carpet

USA TODAY Sports interviewed Cousins this week in San Francisco at Super Bowl 60's radio row. The quarterback was measured and vague about his playing future with the Falcons.

Advertisement

Cousins began the 2025 season as a backup to Michael Penix Jr. However, the veteran quarterback took over as Atlanta's starter when Penix suffered a season-ending torn ACL in November. Cousins registered eight starts and played in 10 games. He averaged 172 passing yards per game and threw 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He went 5-3 in his eight starts.

The Falcons originally signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million in 2024. But Cousins lost his starting job to Penix before the end of the 2024 season.

Cousins' expected release from Atlanta currently makes Penix the early front-runner to resume the starting role. But the Falcons' new regime has been noncommittal about Penix being the team's starting quarterback following an up-and-down campaign.

The biggest question for Falcons president of football Matt Ryan, general manager Ian Cunningham and new coach Kevin Stefanski is who's going to be Atlanta's starting quarterback in 2026? The new regime, however, has apparently figured out it won't be Cousins.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X@TheTylerDragon.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Falcons, Kirk Cousins split on the horizon

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic is day-to-day for the Los Angeles Lakers because of a mild hamstring strain, putting his availability for the All-Star Game next weekend in question, while Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is trending toward missing that contest and the games leading up to it because of a knee injury.

The status of the two superstars were addressed ahead of the marquee game between the Warriors and Lakers on Saturday night, with Los Angeles coach JJ Redick indicating the MRI taken after Doncic washurt in a win over Philadelphia on Thursdayshowed no significant injury.

The Lakers have three more home games prior to the All-Star break after Saturday, and Redick indicated Doncic would like to be available so he could play in his sixth career All-Star game.

"I've been around him as a teammate and as a coach, and I know he plays," Redick said. "If he's able to play, he plays. I think he wants to be in the All-Star Game. I know he wants to play against Dallas the game before the All-Star Game. He has his team working on him day and night, so again, it's day-to-day. When he's ready to play, we'll get him out there."

Doncic is averaging a league-leading 32.8 points. He's second in assists at 8.6, while also ranking in the top 25 in rebounds (7.8), as the 26-year-old Slovenian combo guard pushes for his first Most Valuable Player award.

Doncic was the Western Conference player of the month for January after he averaged 34.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 9.1 assists. He was also chosen as a starter for the U.S. vs. the World-formatted All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Feb. 15.

While the Lakers maintained optimism about Doncic's status, Warriors coach Steve Kerr sounded a pessimistic note about Curry's chances of appearing in his 12th All-Star Game, already calling him doubtful to play against Memphis on Monday night because of hisright knee injury. The home game against the Grizzlies will be one of two remaining games after Saturday for Golden State before the annual exhibition.

"I think there's a good chance that he doesn't play 'til after the break," Kerr said. "But we're just going to take it day by day."

Curry is averaging 27.2 points and 4.8 assists in his 17th NBA season. He missed a Jan. 26 loss to Minnesota because of the knee injury, then played reduced minutes in the next two games, and has now missed three straight games when the Warriors face the Lakers.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The Dallas Cowboys have no plans to let George Pickens hit free agency this offseason.

The team is expected to place the franchise tag on the Pro Bowl wide receiver,according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, which would lock him in for next season on a one-year contract worth roughly $28 million. The tag can be officially applied anytime between Feb. 17 and March 3.

The decision is hardly a surprise. Playing alongside All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, Pickens enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025 after being traded to Dallas from the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns on 137 targets.

BothCowboys owner Jerry Jonesand his son,team COO Stephen Jones, have said they want Pickens back long-term, with Jerry saying he expects a long-term extension to get done:

"I'm talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him," Jones said when asked if contract extension talks have begun with Pickens. "He's better than, as far as what he contributed to our team, showing the potential that he could contribute. I'm looking forward to getting things worked out so George can be a Cowboy a long time."

The franchise tag ensures that however negotiations go, the Cowboys can plan for Pickens to be in the fold for the 2026-27 season.

Hitting Pickens with the franchise tag does mean the Cowboys would have the NFL's second-most expensive receiver duo next season between him and Lamb, who is currently on a four-year, $136 million deal. Combined with the average annual value of that contract, Dallas will be paying the pair $62 million, behind only the $69 million AAV currently going to the Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Pickens is one of several notable Cowboys to be hitting free agency this offseason. Starters Javonte Williams, Jadeveon Clowney and Donovan Wilson are all unrestricted free agents, while All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey is a restricted free agent and is likely seeking the richest kicker deal in NFL history.

Signing Pickens to an extension instead of the tag would free up a significant amount of money for this upcoming offseason, in addition to retaining a star at a premium position for years to come.

SYDNEY, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition coalition reunited on Sunday after the junior partner ​National Party severed ties last month with the ‌Liberal Party over its decision to back government hate speech ‌laws drafted in the wake of the Bondi massacre.

"The coalition is back together and looking to the future, not to the past," Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley ⁠said alongside National ‌Party leader David Littleproud in a media conference televised from Canberra.

The coalition split, the ‍second in less than a year, was triggered after Australia's parliament passed the centre-left Labor government's anti-hate laws in ​the wake of the mass shooting that killed ‌15 in December. The laws were backed by the Liberal Party but opposed by some National Party senators.

"It's been disappointing, we've got to where we are but it was over a substantive issue," Littleproud said.

Under ⁠the long-standing partnership, the Nationals ​broadly represent the interests of ​rural communities and the Liberals city seats.

The coalition has come under recent pressure from populist Senator ‍Pauline Hanson's ⁠anti-immigration One Nation party, which has surged in polling, while the Liberal Party lost a swath ⁠of seats at last year's federal election, won by Labor ‌in a landslide.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; ‌Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea will convene a major political conference later this month, the country's state media said Sunday, where leaderKim Jong Unis expected to outline his domestic and foreign policies for the next five years.

North Korea

The ruling Workers' Party congress, which Kim previously held in 2016 and 2021, comes after years of accelerated nuclear and missile development and deepening ties with Moscow over the war in Ukraine that have increased his standoffs with the United States and South Korea.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the party's political bureau met under Kim's supervision and decided the congress would be held in late February. State media did not immediately specify a date or release agenda details.

The congress will likely continue for days as a highly choreographed display of Kim's authoritarian leadership. In recent weeks, Kim hasinspected weapons testsand toured military sites and economic projects as state media highlighted his purported achievements, crediting his "immortal leadership" with strengthening the country's military capabilities and advancing national development.

His recent activities and comments suggest Kim will use the congress to double down on economic development through "self-sustenance" and mass mobilization while announcing plans to further expand the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, including upgrading conventional weapons systems and integrating them with nuclear forces.

Kim also could highlight his increasingly assertive foreign policy based on closer ties with Moscow and Beijing while hardening anadversarial approach toward rival South Koreaas he continues to embrace the idea of a "new Cold War," experts say.

Advertisement

Kim's willingness to resume diplomacy with the U.S. is unclear. Relations derailed in 2019 after hissecond summitwith U.S. President Donald Trump due to disagreements over sanctions against his nuclear weapons program.

Kim has rejected Trump's overtures for dialogue since the U.S. president began his second term in January 2025. Kim insists Washingtonabandon demandsfor the North to surrender its nuclear weapons as a precondition for future talks.

Entering his 15th year in rule, Kim finds himself in a stronger position than when he opened the previous congress in 2021 during the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Navigating what was seen as his toughest stretch in a decade of power, Kim acknowledged his previous economic policies failed and issued a new five-year development plan through 2025.

He called for accelerated development of his nuclear arsenal and issued an extensive wish list of sophisticated assets including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, multi-warhead systems, tactical nuclear weapons, spy satellites andnuclear-powered submarines.

Kim has exploited geopolitical turmoil to his advantage. He used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a window to accelerate weapons testing and align himself with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, who has accepted thousands of North Korean troops and large quantities of military equipment for the war.

Kim also has pursued closer ties with China, traditionally the North's primary ally and economic lifeline. Hetraveled to Beijing in Septemberfor a World War II event and the first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

While Kim's strict information blockade prevents precise assessments, South Korean analysts say the North's economy appears to have improved over the past five years, possibly due to a gradual recovery in trade with China and an industrial boost from arms exports to Russia.