The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback options are going to be thin if Aaron Rodgers retires. While Mike McCarthy and Omar Khan have expressed confidence in Will Howard, handing him the starting job wouldn’t be wise. The Steelers should still add another veteran. Kirk Cousins looks like the best option after Rodgers, and while some fans might not find the idea of the Steelers signing him appealing, Cousins sounds motivated to prove his doubters wrong.
“I think getting away from the Achilles tear, over two years now, I feel rejuvenated,” Cousins said recently on Jon Gruden’s YouTube channel. “Getting to play last year at the end, going 4-0 down the stretch, put the wind in my sails again. I feel really good, probably the healthiest I’ve been in a while.
“So, I don’t know where it’ll be, I don’t know under what circumstances, but I like the idea of getting back next year and playing. We’ll see, but I’d like to get back out there and give it another shot.”
Cousins will be 38 years old this season, so he wouldn’t be a long-term option for the Steelers. Like Rodgers and Russell Wilson, he’d likely only be a one-year stopgap.
Also, like Rodgers and Wilson, Cousins hasn’t looked like the same player in recent years. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2023 and followed it up with a rough 2024 performance. Cousins threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in 14 games, ultimately getting benched near the end of the season.
While Cousins started 2025 as Michael Penix Jr.’s backup, he got the starting job back after the latter suffered an injury. To his credit, he looked better than he did the previous year, too. Cousins went 5-3 as the Atlanta Falcons’ starter, recording 1,721 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions. As he said, being another year removed from the Achilles tear helped him.
Still, Cousins might not be able to replicate that over an entire season, especially with a new team. He presents many of the same drawbacks as Rodgers. He’s lost much of his athleticism, with pressure seeming to give him more problems. Also, unlike Rodgers, Cousins’ arm seems to have lost some juice.
Starting jobs are starting to get scarce, so Cousins might be hoping that Rodgers decides to call it a career. The Steelers won’t be a Super Bowl contender with Cousins, but maybe they’d be able to get into the playoffs with him. Similar things could be said about Pittsburgh with Rodgers, though. The long-term solution to their quarterback problem isn’t coming in free agency this year.
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