![\"Kirk](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1449897380-1.jpg\")
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The Detroit Lions are being linked to Kirk Cousins as a quarterback option for the 2026-27 season, as a backup to Jared Goff.<\/p>\n
Former Michigan State University quarterback Kirk Cousins<\/a> is a free agent in the NFL, following 14 seasons in the league. Most recently, Cousins served as the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> for two seasons, but split with the team after the 2025-26 season<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, would Cousins ever come to Michigan to play out the golden years of his NFL days with the Detroit Lions<\/a>? The Lions, of course, already has a franchise quarterback in Jared Goff<\/a>, but they could use a deeper quarterback room<\/a>. Even though they added backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater during the NFL<\/a> offseason, they could use another solid name on the roster, and Cousins would bring that, at a very high price, albeit.<\/p>\n Cousins originally signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons with $100 million guaranteed and a $45 million average annual value, according to research from Spotrac<\/a>, so his going rate is high.<\/p>\n Detroit Lions Analyst Endorses the Idea of Kirk Cousins to the Team<\/p>\n In a Wednesday, April 1 feature for Detroit Jock City<\/a>, Andrew Hughes lays out the idea of bringing Cousins to the Lions. He notes that the team\u2019s backup quarterback situation is less than ideal for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though (Teddy) Bridgewater has plenty of experience (65 career starts), his mobility is nowhere near where it was since a 2016 ACL tear with the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>, further limiting his abilities at the position,\u201d he stated in the piece. \u201cHe was never a gunslinger, so athleticism always let him find guys on checkdowns. At this point, he\u2019s a shell of what he used to be and hasn\u2019t even started a game since 2022.\u201d Well, to say he\u2019s a \u201cshell\u201d is pretty harsh, but we get his point.<\/p>\n Hughes also wonders if Bridgewater \u201ccould handle the wear and tear of a full season.\u201d So, he suggests the Lions look to either a newbie quarterback in the draft to develop or a veteran, such as Cousins.<\/p>\n \u201cKirk Cousins was designated for a June 1 release<\/a> by the Atlanta Falcons last month and is actively looking for work,\u201d he notes. \u201cThough he\u2019s in demand, the Lions would do well to inquire, especially given an obvious connection to the coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirk Cousins Has a Connection With the Detroit Lions<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the connection? The Detroit Lions\u2019 new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing, worked with Cousins in 2018, when Petzing was the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Vikings.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if Cousins is a long shot, the Lions can\u2019t ignore the fact that their QB2 issue isn\u2019t solved,\u201d Hughes notes. \u201cIt\u2019s in their best interest to leave no stone unturned to find a legitimate backup for Goff, or else the Lions will be just asking for trouble if Bridgewater is their main insurance policy.\u201d<\/p>\n So, as the\u00a02026-27 NFL season<\/a> draws closer, Cousins still needs a team, and the Lions could obviously benefit from having him on the roster. But, he would be very expensive, knowing how, well, cheap, the Lions can be with their roster, it would be unexpected to see this deal happen.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lions\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Detroit Lions are being linked to Kirk Cousins as a quarterback option for the 2026-27 season,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-848292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116332382318380300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}