NFL Power Rankings: Kirk Cousins’ best 2025 landing spots to be next Russell Wilson

The Kirk Cousins era of Atlanta Falcons football was brief and appears to be winding down. With Cousins getting benched in favor of No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr., all signs point to the Dirty Birds moving on from him this offseason. Because Cousins has a no-trade clause in his contract, Atlanta is going to have to cut him to part ways with him. They expect to do this before March 17.

This is because he will be due a $10 million roster bonus at the time. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Marc Raimondi wrote about how quickly Cousins' Atlanta divorce will be finalized. Back in March, Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal to leave the Minnesota Vikings to come to his wife's hometown of Atlanta. 14 games in, and he was benched. It will be a $65 million dead cap hit for next NFL season.

The good news for Atlanta is Penix is under team control for the next several years at a favorable price. There was also a potential out baked into Cousins' contract after next season, so it is really only one year of financial nonsense plaguing the Dirty Birds again. We have to wonder if owner Arthur Blank is going to cut ties with general manager Terry Fontenot after his lastest offseason debacle.

Now that Cousins appears to be back on the table, here are five places where I think he could sign.

5. Cleveland Browns

Yes, the Cleveland Browns have a rough quarterback financial situation on their hands in the form of the injured persona non grata that is Deshaun Watson. Like Cousins, he too suffered a torn Achilles. He will be working his way back from it this offseason, while Cousins looks to improve his game after suffering the same injury only a season ago. I think there is a chance that this fit just might work out.

Assuming the Browns do not do something stupid, their head coach Kevin Stefanski used to be Cousins' offensive coordinator very early on in his Minnesota tenure. There is familiarity with the scheme and system. My biggest concern besides the Browns being inherently dysfunctional is the climate in which they play. Cousins has no zip on the football. You need that to win in the AFC North.

If Cousins is playing for close to the veteran's minimum, then I would say Cleveland is a contender.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers just did this. They signed a struggling 30-something quarterback off the street in Russell Wilson. He may have had to deal with a hamstring injury at the start of the season, but he eventually beat out his backup Justin Fields to secure the starting job for the playoff-bound Steelers. He was coming off three bad years in a row with the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

While it would be so incredibly Falcons for Cousins to have success in Arthur Smith's ground-centric offense, it just might work. He would be playing more under center, which is the best part of Cousins' game because he can use the play-action pass. Given that Wilson and Fields are playing on expiring contracts, I would not rule out the idea of the Steelers paying Cousins nothing and winning 12 games.

If Pittsburgh can win prolifically with Wilson as their quarterback, it could do the same with Cousins.

3. New York Giants

New York Giants fans are not going to like this, but hear me out. While all signs point to the G-Men drafting Daniel Jones' long-term successor at the top of next year's draft, this team is still going to be largely terrible in 2025. No matter who is leading them, the current regime or not, this is not going to be a playoff team next season. So with that in mind, why not take a defensive star and wait until 2026?

The 2026 NFL Draft may have better quarterbacks over Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. Both are fine, but I think there is a chance someone like Drew Allar or Garrett Nussmeier could be special. Of course, the Giants have done the wrong thing more often than not over the last several years. I would not be surprised if Cousins ends up playing for his fourth NFC franchise in his career next season.

I do not think Cousins would want to go to New York, but it at least gives him another chance to start.

2. San Francisco 49ers

This all comes down to how the San Francisco 49ers' brass feels about Brock Purdy. The third-year pro out of Iowa State has been good, but not great during his NFL career thus far. He has already been a huge hit in the league after having been Mr. Irrelevant. However, the Brock Purdy we saw at times in Ames has resurfaced in Santa Clara. Keep in mind Cousins used to work with Kyle Shanahan.

Back when Shanahan first took over the operation in San Francisco, he tried to land Cousins in free agency. He ended up signing with the Vikings over the Jets, leading to the 49ers trading for Jimmy Garoppolo. Cousins knows the Shanahan system and would be one year removed from having his torn Achilles surgically repaired. I like the upside of this signing, but if it fails, Shanahan will be fired.

1. Tennessee Titans

Keep your eyes on the Tennessee Titans to be a major player in the free agent quarterback market. If this year has taught us anything about the Titans it is that Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are not NFL starting quarterbacks. Cousins may no longer be that either, but like the Giants, Tennessee is probably going to be awful again next year anyway. I feel they will not take a first-round quarterback.

As it is with the 49ers, I fully expect for the Titans to be in the mix to sign Sam Darnold in free agency. I do not see them being as bad as the Giants or Raiders to end up selecting either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. They could reach on someone like a Jalen Milroe or a Carson Beck, but I would rather wait until 2026 to potentially land a Drew Allar, a Garrett Nussmeier or even an Arch Manning in the draft.

Tennessee is the best place for Cousins to reinvent himself as a starting quarterback in the league.