Like in any job, it\u2019s not always about what you know. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as Pittsburgh doesn\u2019t have a quarterback, I\u2019ll always keep my eyes open on that,\u201d Schrager told The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday<\/a> when asked about Cousins becoming a Steeler. \u201cAnd 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\u2019t end on horrible relations to me. There\u2019s still a connection there.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith was fired after the 2024 season with Cousins signed months later. But the Falcons didn\u2019t make a general manager change, keeping Fontenot, which could offer an inside window into Cousins if Pittsburgh was collecting additional information. It\u2019s unclear if they actually would. The Steelers didn\u2019t talk to the Denver Broncos about Russell Wilson or the Green Bay Packers<\/a> about Aaron Rodgers. But it\u2019s a connection worth noting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly not the only one.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, oh by the way, Mike Tomlin\u2019s best friend in the league is probably Raheem Morris,\u201d Schrager said of additional Steelers and Falcons connections. \u201cSo to me there\u2019s always an open line of dialogue, which is the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n