Surprise Team Could Show Interest in Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins departed the Minnesota Vikings 13 months ago for the allure of a $180 million contract from the Atlanta Falcons.
Surprise Team Could Show Interest in Kirk Cousins
Fourteen games into his Falcons chapter, Atlanta benched Cousins in favor of rookie passer Michael Penix Jr. and won’t turn back.
So, onlookers have wondered this offseason where Cousins might land, and according to some recent reporting from SI.com‘s Albert Breer, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a dark-horse suitor for Cousins.
The Steelers Could Enter the Kirk Cousins Sweepstakes
For starters, Cousins’ 2025 options have dwindled and are not improving. Most teams have quarterback solutions on their rosters or will draft a rookie in 10 days.
But don’t rule out Pittsburgh, says Breer.
He wrote this week, “So where could Cousins go? I think Cleveland is a lot less likely now, but not completely impossible. The other team I’d pay attention to is the Pittsburgh Steelers, if Aaron Rodgers decides not to go there. How he fits there, with the strong personalities in that locker room, and on offense in particular, is a fair question. But you don’t have to squint too hard to envision a marriage of convenience between two sides who, once the dust settles on Rodgers, may need each other.”
“And it’s not like there isn’t some level of risk for the Falcons in handling things like this. If they hold on to Cousins into the summer with the idea of trading him, he could decide, with his family now rooted in Atlanta (his wife is from the area), that he’d be less willing to leave in a camp-emergency situation than he might be in the spring.”
Pittsburgh appears to be waiting on Rodgers’ decision, but in absolutely vintage Rodgersian form, the process is taking too long.
Breer added, “There’s also no guarantee that such an emergency situation arises — those don’t happen every year. Of course, that presumes the Falcons are motivated to move Cousins, to the point where they’d handle some of his 2025 salary to make it happen. To this point, they sure haven’t operated like they are willing to do so.”
The Falcons in No Hurry to Move Cousins
From the onset of the offseason, the Falcons’ brass claimed it had no qualms about keeping Cousins as the QB2 in 2025.
They weren’t kidding. A March deadline came and went when offloading Cousins would’ve been fiscally responsible. No movement. And no trades have occurred through three months of the Falcons’ offseason.
Folks have underestimated Atlanta’s commitment to leaving Cousins on the bench, evidently unfazed by any possible distraction.
Browns Sign Joe Flacco
Last week, the Cleveland Browns signed Joe Flacco to a 2023 reunion contract, and he’ll pair with Kenny Pickett this summer for a quarterback competition. The Browns could also draft Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, or Quinn Ewers.
Whose name isn’t on their 2025 ledger? Kirk Cousins. Some believe Cousins to Cleveland made sense because the Browns employ head coach Kevin Stefanski, and Stefanski + Cousins worked together in Minnesota during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
But that theory has fallen flat. With the Flacco deal, Cousins to Cleveland is on life support.
Musical Chairs Running Out
Most original would-be Cousins landing spots are long removed from the board. The Seattle Seahawks signed Sam Darnold. The Las Vegas Raiders traded for Geno Smith. The New York Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. The New York Jets added Justin Fields. And the Tennessee Titans will draft Cam Ward with little mystery.
Cousins’ only path to a starter’s job may be Pittsburgh, which depends on Rodgers’ procrastination.
All Signs Point to ATL Return
This is probably a long way of saying that Cousins will sit on the bench in Atlanta next season, serving as perhaps the most expensive backup quarterback in human history.
Some fringe theorists have spitballed a Vikings reunion, but it might be odd for Minnesota to look backward, at least in spirit, at the dawn of the J.J. McCarthy era. Too, the Vikings are short on draft capital for a hypothetical Cousins trade.
It might be Steelers or bust for Cousins.
Beloved Former Viking Calls It Quits
You must be logged in to post a comment.