

Kirk Cousins surprised many people when he attended the first day of the Atlanta Falcons‘ offseason program back in April. However, it appears the 36-year-old signal-caller is now switching up his game plan as he awaits a change of scenery.
The Falcons began OTAs on Tuesday, and head coach Raheem Morris told reporters that Cousins was not in attendance. OTAs are voluntary, but it’s notable that Cousins was not in the building after previously being in attendance for some of Atlanta’s offseason program.
While the Falcons postured as if Cousins being Michael Penix Jr.’s backup in 2025 is a legitimate possibility, ESPN reported last month that both sides recognize their future is not together. There are several hurdles when it comes to Cousins being traded, and the biggest one is money. Cousins has a total of $37.5 million in guarantees remaining on the four-year, $180 million contract he signed 15 months ago. The Falcons will have to eat some of that money if he were to be moved. ESPN previously reported the Falcons asked interested teams to pay $20 million of the $37.5 million in guarantees. Naturally, no team was willing to do that.
When it comes to where Cousins could be playing in 2025, there aren’t many logical landing spots. The New Orleans Saints could potentially be in the market for a quarterback following the retirement of Derek Carr, but the Falcons surely wouldn’t trade Cousins to a rival. The Cleveland Browns were long viewed as the favorite to land Cousins given Kevin Stefanski’s familiarity with him, but the Browns selected both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft after trading for Kenny Pickett earlier in the offseason. It would be surprising to see the Browns give up draft capital to add to what is already a crowded room.
What about the Pittsburgh Steelers? They can’t wait around for Aaron Rodgers forever. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said last week that Cousins is “at the very least” on the Steelers’ radar, and that the franchise was interested in acquiring Cousins earlier this offseason. They are a team to keep an eye on.
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