NFL insider explains difficulty of Atlanta Falcons trying to trade Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins doesn’t look like he’s going to be changing teams any time soon, despite the calendar turning to June. Options are scarce, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Initially, Cousins was a reported target for the Pittsburgh Steelers, should their pursuit of Aaron Rodgers fall through. But that hasn’t happened and everyone is in limbo.

The Atlanta Falcons have fully pivoted to Michael Penix Jr., despite the financial commitment to Cousins. A lack of a trade or release of the veteran quarterback prior to the NFL Draft was certainly a surprise and now they’re currently stuck.

“Now that it’s June after June 1 after today, they can save $27.5 million on the cash if they trade Cousins,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “The problem is, all that money is guaranteed, somebody’s got to pay it. The Falcons want another team to pay a lot of that to get a deal done. As one source told me, if they were willing to take maybe $7, $8 million on an offset from another team, this would have been done by now, probably a long time ago, and now the options are scarce. 

“There just isn’t much of a quarterback market, especially the Pittsburgh Steelers are still eyeing Aaron Rodgers. So this is going to have to come to a head in the coming weeks and months, but right now, he’s a Falcon. It seems like the team is dug in.”

Cousins was a mixed bag last season, a year where he came off a torn Achilles in 2023 with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and a 66.9% completion percentage.

While with the Minnesota VIkings from 2018-23, Cousins elevated his game. In total, he had 23,265 yards, 171 touchdowns, 55 interceptions and a 67.9% completion percentage.

Cousins signed a four-year contract with Atlanta last season worth $180 million, including $100 million guaranteed. The Falcons also drafted a quarterback with the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft, selecting Penix Jr., who later took the starting job from Cousins as he struggled during his first year in Atlanta. 

That dynamic led to trade rumors as the quarterback carousel started to spin. However, no deal came together, meaning Cousins is currently in line to return to the Falcons in 2025 as Penix gets ready for his second season in the league.