Kirk Cousins no shows Falcons OTAs amid Steelers reported interest in veteran QB

The Atlanta Falcons began voluntary OTAs on Tuesday. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was not in attendance, head coach Raheem Morris said.

Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in the 2024 offseason. He could be available for trade after being benched last season in favor of 2024 first round pick Michael Penix Jr. 

Coming off a torn Achilles from the season prior, Cousins wasn’t the same quarterback in Atlanta as he was the previous six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins started 14 games, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on 66.9% passing.

ESPN insider: Kirk Cousins ‘on Steelers’ radar’ if Aaron Rodgers talks fall through

In terms of possible suitors for Cousins, the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be a potential landing spot. With Aaron Rodgers continuing to ponder his NFL future, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported Monday that Cousins is on the team’s radar should something “fall through” with Rodgers. Cousins carries a $40 million cap hit in 2025. Atlanta owes him $37.5 million in guaranteed salary between this year and next year.

“I would say Kirk Cousins,” Fowler said on Monday’s SportsCenter when asked about non-Rodgers options for the Steelers. “I had some conversations with people this week that led me to believe that Cousins is, at the very least, on the Steelers’ radar if something were to fall through on Rodgers. Now, here’s how they could make that happen. Cousins has $37.5 million in guarantees between this year and next year. Somebody’s on the hook for that, whether it’s Atlanta or someone else. So, to facilitate a trade, Atlanta would need a team to offset some of that money – whether it’s $4 million, $20 million, whatever it is.

“But the feeling around the league is that Atlanta has not been willing to budge on this. They haven’t shown a lot of interest in trading Cousins. It would take a hefty price tag for another team to wiggle that out. As one source told me, if they’re willing to take a small percentage – let’s say $7 or $8 million of that money – a deal would be done by now. There was interest earlier in the offseason. Right now, Pittsburgh might be the only hope for Cousins, or he’s sort of stuck in Atlanta.”

Falcons GM discusses possibility of Kirk Cousins trade

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said last month the team is in no rush to trade Cousins: “We just have to be patient there. We’re always open — not just talking about Kirk, but with really anybody on our roster — we have a lot of those calls. I’ve probably talked to already six or seven GMs since the draft has ended, and they’re talking about their roster, we’re talking about our roster. Because after you get through the draft, that shifts some things in terms of needs and surplus and all that.

“So, we’re always patient with those types of things because if something comes to us with Kirk or any other player that makes sense and it’s gonna help this team, then we’re gonna be aggressive and we’re going to do it. And if it’s not something that’s gonna ultimately help this team, we always have to ask that question: Is it the best for the Atlanta Falcons, for this organization? And if it is, we’re gonna be willing to do it, but all that communication is always ongoing.”