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Would Kirk Cousins Waive His No-Trade Clause To Be Steelers Contingency Plan?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Petry | Last updated May 29, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Kirk Cousins is not the number one guy on the Pittsburgh Steelers' radar; even if he were, a lot of factors are still in play regarding his contract status.

Atlanta has only found a couple of suitors willing to take on any remaining salary owed to Cousins. They have been trying to find a team to take on a chunk of the $37.5 million still owed to him. By chunk, I mean they wanted someone to pay upwards of $20 million of it, which has not happened yet.

Only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings have come forward willing to pay any amount. Reports indicate that those teams are only willing to pay around $10 million of the remaining salary.

Things are getting interesting in Atlanta, but someone must be on the hook to pay Cousins' salary. Cousins could be on the roster as a wealthy backup to start the season, barring any teams being desperate in training camp due to injury.

The Steelers have recently shown more interest in Cousins, but only as a contingency plan while waiting for Aaron Rodgers to decide. No one knows how long Pittsburgh will wait for Rodgers to do so, but they could be patient if Rodgers has given them any inkling of playing in Pittsburgh.

Would Cousins be willing to waive his no-trade clause not to be a part of Pittsburgh's plans up front? Cousins still hold all of the cards in this situation. He could play the "mostly retired" card and not attend any football-related activities, waiting out a team in need. The situation continues to get more complicated, but something must be resolved soon.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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