A perfect storm may be brewing to ship Kirk Cousins out of town. While he did reportedly show up to the Atlanta Falcons' first day of their offseason program on Tuesday, everything else indicates that he is about to be traded. This comes on the heels of the team signing Easton Stick to be Michael Penix Jr.'s backup. There are also some interesting rumors coming out about who could trade for Cousins.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that the Cleveland Browns, the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers could all potentially trade for Cousins. His former team in the Vikings seem like the most improbable, given their affinity for second-year pro J.J. McCarthy. Pittsburgh is still the presumptive favorite, as they really only have Mason Rudolph on their roster at this point in time.
Neither of these are new developments, but the Browns being back on the table sure is. We all thought they had effectively removed themselves from the equation in the wake of signing the ageless Joe Flacco. He helped guide the Browns to a playoff berth only two years ago. Keep in mind that Cleveland is not expected to draft a quarterback in the first round. They also have Deshaun Watson...
The other big thing to keep in mind is that Cousins has a rapport with head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Atlanta Falcons are getting lift when it comes to moving off Kirk Cousins
By having the Browns back in the mix to land Cousins, this only raises the asking price for a rival team like the Steelers. If he were to go to Cleveland and then beat you once, maybe even twice, how bad of a look would that be for the Pittsburgh brass? Cousins was right for the taking! I wrote yesterday that Cousins should not waive his no-trade clause to go back to Minnesota. That would be so regrettable.
So rather than play an antiquated game of cat and mouse with a washed 40-something quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, I may just try to trade for Cousins. I doubt that Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders will be there for the Steelers to pick at No. 21. They may try their luck with Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart with that selection, but he is not ready to start Week 1 for the team.
In short, it is all lining up for Cousins to be traded. Russini believes that could happen on Saturday once the 2025 NFL Draft reaches its conclusion from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Cleveland coming back into the race and Minnesota not yet removing itself creates the market to get a deal done with the Steelers. There is one other thing that I think most people have overlooked with Cousins in all this.
With him showing up to day one of the Falcons' offseason program, it has taken away leverage from his representation. They may be playing hard to get, but deep down, Cousins is a good person and a likable guy. He is always team-centric, which runs counter to everything we have heard about him all offseason long. This may have been down to get the medicals in order, rather than playing hardball.
This extra leverage may cause whoever ends up trading for Cousins to eat a bit more of his contract.