We’re suddenly hearing more talk about Kirk Cousins with the Pittsburgh Steelers as OTAs begin, thanks to Aaron Rodgers’ absence. The longer he takes to sign, the more people will talk about alternatives. For former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden, though, Cousins isn’t a viable alternative—at least not yet.
Speaking on CBS Sports recently, McFadden offered his perspective as a former player, and former Steelers player. “How much better is Kirk Cousins right now”, he asked, “than Mason Rudolph? When I look at the numbers with Kirk Cousins, he threw 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His last four, five starts were horrendous”.
The theoretical Steelers target, Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowler, but he didn’t play like it last season. After all, the Atlanta Falcons opted to bench him in favor of Michael Penix Jr. at the end of the year. They gave Cousins a bunch of guaranteed money, and chose to have that money sit on the bench. And it’s not hard to see why after he led the NFL in interceptions while playing only 14 games.
During his playing time last season, Kirk Cousins went 303-for-453 for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. While he posted a high completion percentage, and had a decent YPA, his success rate was still below average. He also posted the lowest QBR and quarterback rating as a starter of his entire career at 50.4 and 88.6.
Of course, while Cousins didn’t have a good season, it’s not like Steelers QB Mason Rudolph did last year. He went 1-4 with the Titans and threw as many interceptions as touchdowns. McFadden argued that he had “a lot of nothing” around him, but he also earned those losses.
“To go get Kirk Cousins, you have to give up something”, he said, meaning salary and draft capital. The Steelers would have to acquire Cousins via trade, of course, as he is under contract with the Falcons.
“If you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, does that make any sense? Because bringing in Kirk Cousins, do you really believe he can drastically improve the chances for your team offensively to be what you need to be to win ball games?”.
Rather than make any kind of move in the coming months of Aaron Rodgers opts not to sign, he instead advocated for letting the situation play out. While he talked about Mason Rudolph, he also mentioned Will Howard, the rookie sixth-round pick. The arguments for why Rodgers would be better with the Steelers, though, are the same for Cousins. Another year removed from injury, for example, and more stability, all of that fun stuff.
There have been some reports indicating that Cousins is on the Steelers’ radar if Rodgers walks, but to what extent? Jeremy Fowler of ESPN also suggests that acquiring Cousins would come with a “hefty price tag”, and if so, I agree with McFadden. Does that make any sense? We’re talking about a one-year relationship no matter who the quarterback is, so keep the investment minimal.
It’s not like the Steelers are on the cusp of a Super Bowl or that Kirk Cousins would put them there. The thing is, if they really believed that, they would have traded for him a while ago already.
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