The Kirk Cousins saga in Atlanta is continuing with no end in sight. The Falcons are not relenting on their desire to keep the 36-year-old quarterback as the most expensive and overqualified backup in the NFL. Cousins has made it pretty clear that he wants out of Atlanta but the Falcons don't have a financial incentive to do so as things stand now.
Considering the fact that the Falcons don't gain anything financially by releasing him, they will wait for an opportunity to trade him. While Cousins' contract makes things complicated, all it takes is for one team to get desperate with their QB situation.
In fact, there may already be a few suitors considering making a Cousins move. NFL insider Josina Anderson said that there have been "recent preliminary trade inquiries" and that the Falcons have been "getting calls".
Perhaps more surprising than this, however, is the potential return in a trade for Cousins.
Evening Notes: The offseason Carousel continues to churn.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 19, 2025
I was just told these two quarterback names came up in recent preliminary* trade inquiries or internal discussions, per a league source: Kirk Cousins and Will Levis.
“Atlanta has been getting calls.”
(I heard talk of a… pic.twitter.com/fxBfHDiada
Falcons Could Get a Third-Round Pick for Kirk Cousins in a Potential Trade
Anderson said that a third-round pick could get a deal done. While she doesn't specify which team would be willing to give up such a draft asset, this would be a major coup for the Falcons.
At this stage in negotiations, the Falcons should be thrilled if they got anything of value in return for Cousins, let alone a third-round pick. This could very well be coming from Atlanta's side, who wants to increase leverage in trade discussions. It seems unlikely that a third-round pick would be on the table and that the Falcons would not have already taken that deal.
The Browns, Jets, and the Vikings have long been speculated as potential Cousins landing spots. Whether any of them would be willing to pay this high of a price remains to be seen but we will see where the veteran QB ends up after only one year in Atlanta.