The Atlanta Falcons have two quarterbacks and the Cleveland Browns do not really have one. Well, there is a chance the Dirty Birds could trade its high-priced backup Kirk Cousins to Cleveland. The Falcons are more than comfortable with him being on the payroll this year with Michael Penix Jr. being the clear starting quarterback for them going forward. Cleveland is so incredibly desperate.
While I may not personally like the idea of this proposal for reasons I will explain later, I will give Jared Mueller of Dawgs By Nature credit for sticking his neck out there with this multi-pronged one. Mueller discussed the trade that sends Cousins to Cleveland, as well as the No. 15 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft so the Browns can draft ... Shedeur Sanders out of Colorado. He will be taken in the top five.
So without further ado, here is a visual of the trade Mueller proposed that the Browns should make.
Cleveland would get a high-priced, stop-gap veteran quarterback in Cousins, as well as the No. 15 pick to attempt and certainly fail at drafting Sanders there. If you like him, then take him No. 2 overall and get him a weapon at No. 15. Sanders is not for everyone, but he and Miami starter Cam Ward are every bit top-10 picks this spring. The New York Giants would die to be able to land either at No. 3...
As for Atlanta, you get two veteran starters at positions of need in Ogbo Okoronkwo out on the edge and Greg Newsome in the secondary. They are fine players, ones that I could think work for Atlanta. As far as the picks coming Atlanta's way are concerned, they are all over the place. They get two sixths in 2025, a second in 2026 and a conditional fifth in 2026 that has a chance of becoming a third.
To date, I have not dissected a trade proposal as complicated in the NFL before. I usually refrain from getting multiple players involved because teams making trades usually like picks more than players. They would rather go to the grocery store and shop for their own ingredients. Initially, I hated this trade proposal as a Falcons fan, but I am willing to hear Mueller out and see where this might go...
How Cleveland Browns can trade for Kirk Cousins and the No. 15 pick
From a Browns' perspective, I can get behind the idea of Cousins being your quarterback for right now and Sanders being the one for the future. Deshaun Watson is dead money, but so is Cousins effectively for the Falcons. I am sure Cousins would hate having his replacement on the same team as him. Where Mueller loses me is Sanders being available at No. 15. There is no chance it is happening.
From a Falcons standpoint, you get two more picks to work with in this year's draft, two players who can improve your roster right away in Newsome and Okoronkwo, and two picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The second-round pick in 2026 is clutch, but you have to expect that the 2026 conditional pick is not becoming a third-round pick because the Browns are not going to make the playoffs. So it is a fifth...
For my money, the money is too wonky and complicated for me to agree to this if I am running the Falcons front office. Then again, Terry Fontenot does strange and unusual things all the time, which included drafting Penix right after giving Cousins all that money. Technically, he was right... My thought is that giving up the No. 15 pick for only one more for this season is not making this deal a reality.
Again, while I think Newsome and Okoronkwo could help the Falcons defense right away, who will Atlanta's backup quarterback be? The Falcons supposedly only interviewed defensive players at the NFL combine. They also sent a boatload of coaches and front office personnel to Athens for Georgia's pro day. The Dawgs have three defensive players who could go to the Falcons at No. 15.
What I am getting at is Cousins may be a fit for what the Browns need, but it takes two to tango. Atlanta may be willing to move off Cousins for the right price, but I sincerely doubt he is going to Cleveland with the No. 15 overall pick. That is simply too farfetched for me. Again, I appreciate the creativity, but this trade gets you laughed out of the building. These are the Browns and Falcons...
I would not make this trade if I were Atlanta because the No. 15 pick is too valuable. If Cleveland thinks Sanders will be available to them at No. 15 after passing on him at No. 2, I have a bridge to nowhere in Alaska that is just dying to be sold to you. You only try to do this trade if Sanders is the pick at No. 2 and the No. 15 pick is used to get him a weapon like wide receiver Emeka Egbuka out of Ohio State.
To me, this trade feels about as close to impossible as I have ever seen, but I have to put a grade on it.