Mike Florio has interesting Kirk Cousins-Steelers take amid Aaron Rodgers uncertainty

The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through quite a hectic offseason so far ahead of the 2026 season. With Mike McCarthy taking the reins as the new head coach in Pittsburgh, the Steelers are now beginning to look at how they can improve their roster ahead of the 2026 season. While it was reported on Friday that quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a strong possibility of returning, there is a solid backup plan the Steelers could shift to if Rodgers does not return.

Kirk Cousins has recently been named as a solid veteran option to take over as the signal caller for the Steelers in 2026. With the Steelers awaiting Rodgers' decision on whether or not to return, many have been guessing as to what a potential solution could look like.

Mike Florio cited Cousins as a viable option they should look at pivoting to for their starting quarterback in 2026. Florio spoke of this possibility on his "ProFootballTalk" show on Thursday. The insider provided some intriguing insight as to the value of shifting the focus from Rodgers to Cousins.

"Now that he's healthy, he can still sling it, and [the Falcons] had some big wins down the stretch. They beat the Bucs, they beat the Rams, in prime time," Florio said. "He's gonna get paid. Won't be a long-term deal, but he is gonna get paid. I don't know why the Steelers aren't thinking maybe Cousins gives us a little better chance to win than a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers would." 

Cousins has seen success in the NFL before and certainly would be a solid veteran backup plan at quarterback for the Steelers. They do not seem to want to give Will Howard a chance to start and Mason Rudolph would be a downgrade from Rodgers at the position. Cousins is also a few years younger than Rodgers, as he will turn 38 in August. Throughout Cousins' 14-year NFL career, he has thrown for over 4,000 yards in seven of those seasons as well.

While one option has been floated in Malik Willis possibly coming to Pittsburgh if Rodgers decides against it, Willis still has a something to prove as an NFL quarterback and he is expected to command a large price tag. 

Mac Jones of the San Francisco 49ers has also been mentioned as a potential trade target for the Steelers. However, conflicting reports mention that San Francisco may want to hang on to Jones since he was a solid backup option that kept them alive for the playoffs with Brock Purdy hurt for a portion of the 2025 season.

Steelers need to learn from their previous mistake with Aaron Rodgers

The Steelers waited around for quite some time to get a decision from Rodgers last offseason. The veteran quarterback did not make a decision until June of 2025 as to what his future plans were in his NFL career. While it has been reported that this time around Rodgers will make a decision sooner than that, the Steelers cannot afford to repeat the same mistake this offseason as they did last offseason with Rodgers. 

The Steelers clearly are looking to quickly turn things around in Pittsburgh with the hiring of McCarthy at head coach. With them being open to a return by Rodgers, that also confirms that they are not going to commit to a rebuild. If they are going to have that approach, they need to make sure they get a decision on Rodgers quickly so that if he does not return, they could shift their focus to a solid veteran like Cousins.

While the Atlanta Falcons still have Cousins under contract ahead of the 2026 season, the consensus is that they are most likely going to release him and move forward without him as their quarterback. 

Cousins has won some big playoff games, such as the one Florio eluded to over the Los Angeles Rams in prime time. While it may not be a splash signing if the Steelers would shift their focus to Cousins, he provides consistency at the position and may work well with McCarthy who has a history of working with some great NFL quarterbacks.