The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins last offseason with hopes of bringing the Lombardi Trophy to the Peach State.
It was a perfect match on paper. Cousins lived in Atlanta during the offseason, and the new Falcons offensive coordinator was Zac Robinson, a product of the increasingly robust Sean McVay coaching tree. Those in the McVay-Shanahan bucket tend to worship Cousins, whose quick release and penchant for play-action passes is tailor-made for that system.
Unfortunately, it did not work out. Cousins received $180 million from Atlanta, but only the first two years were guaranteed — in direct anticipation of a potential flameout, like this. Cousins led the NFL in both interceptions and fumbles last season. He only appeared in 14 games. By season's end, the Falcons handed the reins to No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. That was the end of the Cousins era.
The general belief has been that Atlanta will waive Cousins and allow him to sign elsewhere as a free agent, a la Russell Wilson with Denver a year ago. That said, a team desperate enough to get Cousins in the building could jump the line and avoid the uncertainty of free agency with a single move: a trade.
The Falcons would surely welcome just about anything of value for Cousins, whose contract is inherently a rental for any suitor. Most teams would probably prefer to let Cousins hit the free agent waters, but there are a few truly famished rosters out there. None stand out more than the Cleveland Browns.
This Browns-Falcons trade would replace Deshaun Watson with Kirk Cousins... for now
Bleacher Report's Mo Moton suggests the following trade to send Cousins to the great midwest.
This is pretty much in line with the trade value of Justin Fields and Kenny Pickett last offseason. Cousins is a decade older than both, but he's also far more accomplished (and expensive, and better). The Browns have Deshaun Watson on the books for $46 million this season and next, with a cap hit exceeding $70 million. It's therefore difficult to imagine this trade going through unless Atlanta eats some of Cousins' salary in order to facilitate a deal.
That all checks out. The Falcons are going to have to stomach the financial loss either way, so they might as well get draft capital out of it. We can quibble with a fourth-round pick versus a fifth-round pick and whatnot, but Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback who still threw for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. If he shows up to camp healthier and can get his turnovers under control, there's real potential for the Browns to benefit from Cousins' arrival.
"Healthier" is the key qualifier, of course. Cousins spent most of last season looking not quite like himself. He was coming off an Achilles tear at 36 years old, which is never easy. It was also his first major knee injury as a professional athlete, so it was a wholly new challenge for the traditionally durable signal-caller. Cousins' game has never been predicated on elite movement skills, but he needs to be able to comfortably run play-actions and move around the pocket. He was stiff as a board in Atlanta, standing upright and immobile as defenders crashed into him from all sides. That's why he lofted so many vulnerable passes into traffic and was the victim of almost a fumble per game.
If Cousins just can't move anymore, going from the bounties of Atlanta's offense to Cleveland's far less talented group won't help much. If Cousins gets back to something more like his old self, then the Browns might just have a shot at climbing back up the standings. This could also be read as a direct statement to Myles Garrett — proof that Cleveland is serious about winning games in the short term, even if it uses the No. 2 pick on a rookie quarterback to develop behind Cousins.
It's a fun thought. Cousins' contract would presumably cost very little once the trade details are worked out with Atlanta and the risk is mitigated on a one-year deal. If he flourishes, he can re-sign and start over Watson next season, when the latter returns from his own Achilles injury. If Cousins stinks it up again, ideally the Browns have Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders to pick up the slack.