The Pittsburgh Steelers have a fallback plan to Aaron Rodgers, and it is another veteran option. If Rodgers chose to retire or continue to wait it out, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Steelers have Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins on their radar and would at least look into that.
Cousins has a no-trade clause, so if they did trade for Cousins, it would essentially give him the inside track to become their starting quarterback.
“So Rodgers Plan A, Kirk Cousins could be a viable Plan B,” Fowler said. “After making some calls today, I do believe he’s been on their radar. If something were to fall through with Rodgers, certainly they could reconvene, call Atlanta, and see if they could shake something out. But right now, Rodgers is their guy.”
Adam Schefter said in April the Falcons are asking any team that will land Cousins to pick up $20 million in salary.
“Publicly, the Falcons have said they’re not interested in trading quarterback Kirk Cousins but that they’d entertain offers if the right deal was on the table,” Schefter writes. “Atlanta has asked for any acquiring team to pay $20 million of the $45 million worth of guarantees left on Cousins’ contract. To date, no has been willing to do that, and no team is expected to be willing to. But what happens this weekend — and which franchises come out of the draft with or without rookie quarterbacks –could influence how much guaranteed money a team might be willing to absorb on Cousins’ contract.”
Cousins has expressed he would like to leave the Falcons for a new team where he could start this season. Coming off a torn Achilles in 2023, Cousins never fully looked like himself after surgery and a return. Still, the Falcons signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract that made him a highly compensated quarterback.
In his one season with the Falcons, he threw for 3508 yards with 18 touchdowns and a league-leading 16 interceptions in just 14 starts.