The 2025 NFL Draft is only a couple weeks away, and the Atlanta Falcons have yet to trade veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins was signed to a monster four-year, $180 million contract last offseason and flopped in his first year as a starter.
The veteran quarterback was benched late in the season for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who looks poised to be the starter in 2025. With that being known, Cousins is now relegated to the backup role, a highly expensive one.
The Falcons are okay with keeping Cousins as the backup as they don’t want to give him away for nothing in a potential deal. At the start of free agency, there were some potential options for Cousins such as the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Giants signed two veteran quarterbacks (Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston), while the Browns traded for Kenny Pickett and just brought back Joe Flacco last week. The addition of Flacco likely crushes the dream of Cousins going to Cleveland.
The Steelers are still out there as they’ve been linked to another veteran quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, but things are at a standstill. Cousins would probably like to be moved before the NFL draft, but the latest report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer isn’t great for the veteran QB.
According to Breer, the Falcons have been “tough” on the idea of taking on a lot of Cousins’ contract to make a potential trade work and not wanting to pay too much of it to "buy" a draft pick. The senior NFL reporter also mentions that he would think the Browns would rather have Cousins under center than Flacco, but his sense is the Browns view the two guys similarly.
"You’d think the Browns would rather have Cousins than Flacco, but my sense is the team views the two similarly. So the number they maxed Flacco out at tells me that the Falcons weren’t going pick up even half of Cousins’s money for 2025 to push a deal through."Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer
💥💥 @TheMMQB Takeaways 💥💥
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 14, 2025
⭐️ @Giants, @Browns trending away from QBs at 2, 3.
⭐️ What @JoeFlacco's deal says on @KirkCousins8.
⭐️ Strange case of @DerekCarrQB in New Orleans.
⭐️ The Nico ripple effects.
⭐️ How the @NFL really sees Shedeur.
⭐️ MORE!https://t.co/uUwzsac96G
If you are Cousins, this is not good to hear as his value is at its lowest with the NFL offseason on the verge of being at a standstill after the NFL draft. If he doesn’t get traded now, Cousins’ next best shot to get moved might be during training camp, especially if a starting QB gets hurt.
Speaking of injuries, the New Orleans Saints could be another possible option for Cousins, especially with uncertainty around Derek Carr. However, Carr has a somewhat large contract, making it hard to see these two NFC South rivals doing a deal.
Therefore, Cousins should get comfortable with the idea of being the backup in Atlanta until another opportunity comes forward.