The Atlanta Falcons have had an eventful offseason thus far and a lot of the news has been around Kirk Cousins.
The Falcons said they don't plan to trade quarterback Kirk Cousins and that became evident when Cousins was on the roster on March 15. That triggered a $10M roster bonus and puts his 2025 cap hit at $40 million.
While it looked like the Falcons want to keep Cousins around, it appears his chances of getting dealt just got a boost. ESPN's Adam Schefter said on his podcast this week that the Minnesota Vikings are a possible landing spot for Cousins to be the backup to J.J. McCarthy. On Wednesday morning, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero also reported the Vikings have ended their pursuit of Aaron Rodgers, which would clear the way for the ex-Minnesota QB's return to the team.
Oh boy... @AdamSchefter specifically floats the possibility of the @Vikings waiting out the Falcons after the draft and trading for Kirk Cousins to back up J.J. McCarthy.
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) March 18, 2025
"It makes sense".
(Via: @AdamSchefter Podcast / YT) pic.twitter.com/xKdRObbXx0
Vikings Named as a Landing Spot for Kirk Cousins
Schefter floated the idea that the Vikings wait until after the draft and send over a sixth-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Cousins. Minnesota has a hole at QB2 after missing out on Daniel Jones and he believes Cousins would be an ideal option.
Schefter also named the Cleveland Browns as a landing spot if they don't get Cam Ward in the NFL Draft.
The Falcons have handed the starting quarterback position to Michael Penix Jr. While they've said on multiple occasions they are fine keeping Cousins as the highest-paid backup in the league, they would certainly take some draft capital in return for him.
If he's sent to Minnesota, it'll be a reunion for the Michigan State product. Cousins played for the Vikings from 2018-2023. During that time, he went 2093 of 3081 (67.9%) for 23,265 passing yards with 171 passing touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
He had plenty of success with Kevin O'Connell and would likely be open to heading back there. We'll have to see how things unfold over the next couple of weeks but the Vikings or Browns could be destinations for Cousins.