The Cleveland Browns have been the No. 1 landing spot for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. They have to find another starting quarterback and their head coach, Kevin Stafanski, worked with Cousins in Minnesota.
It has extended beyond speculation as many rumors have confirmed their interest in the veteran quarterback, but they already made a big move by trading for Kenny Pickett and now they are looking at another starting quarterback on the open market.
According to Adam Schefter, Russell Wilson will spend his Thursday afternoon meeting with the Browns before flying to New York to meet with the Giants.
Sources: Free-agent QB Russell Wilson is scheduled to fly tonight to Cleveland to visit with the Browns on Thursday, before being scheduled to fly to New York on Thursday night to visit Friday with the Giants. pic.twitter.com/5mKkcqV4ja
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2025
At this point, it feels like the Browns are the only hope when it comes to trading Kirk Cousins, so hearing they are sniffing around other options is not good news.
Atlanta Falcons are losing leverage in a Kirk Cousins trade
As previously mentioned, the Browns traded for Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett on Monday. It was a strange move that had fans questioning whether he would be the new starter. However, it appears he will be competing with a TBD veteran quarterback.
The Falcons are holding out hope that they can trade Kirk Cousins, hopefully before Sunday's roster bonus. Unfortunately, they are losing their leverage as starting opportunities dry up.
If the Browns sign Russell Wilson, that is another job gone. They aren't going to sign Wilson and then trade for Cousins to go with Pickett. This signing would slam the door shut and, at that point, the Falcons should cut their losses and release him.
Could another team be interested? Certainly, but another spot filled means one less team in the small bidding war.
The Giants, Steelers, and Titans are the only other teams and none of them have had any reported interest for the Falcons quarterback.
The next few days will tell us a lot; if Cousins isn't released by Sunday then the Falcons truly believe they can force a trade to happen -- who knows how long it will take to happen.