{"id":79682,"date":"2025-05-26T06:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T06:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/79682\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T06:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T06:44:10","slug":"atlanta-falcons-unwilling-to-budge-on-key-aspect-of-kirk-cousins-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/79682\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Falcons unwilling to budge on key aspect of Kirk Cousins trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heading into the offseason, it was widely assumed that the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> would find a trade partner for Kirk Cousins<\/a>. After all, the conditions now are much different from when he signed a four-year, $180 million contract.<\/p>\n

For one, Michael Penix Jr<\/a>. was drafted with the eighth overall pick just over a month later. Then, the gloves came off once the Falcons benched Cousins in place of Penix for the final three games of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

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While Cousins wasn\u2019t able to help transform the Falcons\u2019 offense in his first season in Atlanta, he\u2019s still believed to be a starting-caliber quarterback in a league that doesn\u2019t have enough high-caliber options.<\/p>\n

Teams like the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New Orleans Saints would likely all benefit from adding Cousins. Yet, the Falcons have hung onto their expensive backup QB, who\u2019s set to have a cap hit of $40 million in 2025.<\/p>\n

Recently, ESPN\u2019s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler<\/a> explained a bit about what\u2019s happening with Cousins\u2019 status in Atlanta, and the stubbornness the Falcons have operated with. Perhaps what\u2019s most interesting is the fact that Fowler says the four-time Pro Bowl QB is \u201con the Steelers\u2019 radar\u201d as a potential fallback solution for Aaron Rodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some conversations with people this week that led me to believe that Cousins is at the very least on the Steelers\u2019 radar, if something were fall through on Rodgers. Now, here\u2019s how they could make that happen. Cousins has $37.5 million in guarantees between this year and next year. Somebody\u2019s on the hook for that, whether it\u2019s Atlanta or someone else. So to facilitate a trade, Atlanta would need a team to offset some of that money, whether it\u2019s $4 million, $20 million, whatever it is, but the feeling around the league is that Atlanta has not been willing to budge on this. They haven\u2019t shown a lot of interest in trading Cousins, it would take a hefty price tag for another team to wiggle that out. As one source told me, if they were willing to take a small percentage, like let\u2019s say $7 or $8 million of that money, a deal would be done by now. There was interest earlier in the offseason. Right now, Pittsburgh might be the only hope for Cousins or he\u2019s stuck in Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler on Atlanta Falcons\/Kirk Cousins<\/p>\n

If Rodgers does decide not to join the Pittsburgh Steelers, pivoting to a trade for Cousins would make a lot of sense for a team with playoff aspirations. Yet, based on Fowler\u2019s reporting, the Steelers better be prepared to fork over some extra cash in the process.<\/p>\n

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Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Who\u2019s No. 1 after the NFL Draft?<\/a><\/p>\n

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