There might be a light at the end of the tunnel for Falcons, Kirk Cousins

It seems there is now exactly one scenario in which the Falcons will be able to rid themselves of Kirk Cousins — Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday that Atlanta’s veteran backup is Pittsburgh’s own backup plan if Rodgers elects not to sign with them.

“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,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Cousins has $37.5 million in guarantees between this year and next year. Somebody’s on the hook for 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.”

The Falcons haven’t budged on their stance. They are not bothered about keeping Kirk Cousins on the roster in 2025. In their minds, the ideal scenario would’ve been that Cousins was excellent in 2024 and was running it back as the starter in 2025. The Falcons figured that all of that money was going to be on the books anyway.

That might not seem logical from the Falcons fans’ point of view at this point, but Atlanta leadership have been steadfast in saying that Cousins is the backup, and they’re not just going to give the veteran away for free. Of course, Cousins feels the exact opposite. He wants out, somewhere he can start.

Unfortunately for him, that’s not going to just happen because he wants it. He has no cache in Atlanta. His contract is already on the books, and there are no obvious suitors to make a trade, other than the Steelers, as Adam Schefter reported similarly to Fowler.

“I do think they would then inquire about Kirk Cousins and try and make a deal for Kirk Cousins to Pittsburgh. I think that would make some sense,” Schefter said on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “I would think they’ll explore a trade for Kirk Cousins if Aaron Rodgers decides not to play, which, by the way, I think everybody thinks he will decide to play, and in Pittsburgh.”

The Falcons’ only hope of offloading Kirk Cousins’ contract is that Aaron Rodgers leaves the Steelers high and dry, forcing Pittsburgh to pivot to another veteran.

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