Like in any job, it’s not always about what you know. It’s who you know. For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, there are plenty of dots to connect. So much that ESPN insider Peter Schrager drew easy dots between the franchises that could facilitate a deal for quarterback Kirk Cousins.
“As long as Pittsburgh doesn’t have a quarterback, I’ll always keep my eyes open on that,” Schrager told The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday when asked about Cousins becoming a Steeler. “And I know that just because they never actually overlapped, the fact that Arthur Smith came from Atlanta and knows Terry Fontenot and knows Arthur Blank and knows what those guys and they didn’t end on horrible relations to me. There’s still a connection there.”
Smith was fired after the 2024 season with Cousins signed months later. But the Falcons didn’t make a general manager change, keeping Fontenot, which could offer an inside window into Cousins if Pittsburgh was collecting additional information. It’s unclear if they actually would. The Steelers didn’t talk to the Denver Broncos about Russell Wilson or the Green Bay Packers about Aaron Rodgers. But it’s a connection worth noting.
It’s certainly not the only one.
“And then, oh by the way, Mike Tomlin’s best friend in the league is probably Raheem Morris,” Schrager said of additional Steelers and Falcons connections. “So to me there’s always an open line of dialogue, which is the most important thing.”
Tomlin and Morris worked together in Tampa Bay and Tomlin regularly went to bat for Morris to receive a second head coaching chance after being fired by Tampa Bay following the 2011 season. More than a decade later, Morris received that chance in Atlanta, replacing Smith for the 2024 season. Despite a poor defense and quarterback change, the Falcons went 8-9 and figure to be in the playoff hunt this season.
Pittsburgh trading for Cousins isn’t just about the connections. The Steelers would have to believe in Cousins’ ability to bounce back from a wretched 2024 season, likely on the basis of his 2023 Achilles tear hindering his play and Cousins being a better quarterback two years removed from it. It also would likely require Aaron Rodgers falling through as the Steelers’ Plan A.
Trading for Cousins also comes with its own obstacles. Though it’s now days away, a deal wouldn’t happen until June 1 at the earliest with the Steelers and Falcons needing to hammer out draft pick compensation and how much money the Falcons would eat to deal Cousins.
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