The Atlanta Falcons are continuing to play the waiting game with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Reports continue to emerge that the team is perfectly comfortable keeping the quarterback as their backup for the 2025 season. A lot of this is likely due to the belief either a trade will present itself or Cousins will become willing to waive his guarantees and make a release a cheaper option.
If neither of these options are on the table, the Falcons appear unwilling to pay Cousins to play elsewhere. With this in mind, the options are quickly dwindling for the quarterback with four possible landing spots remaining.
1. Cleveland Browns
There is a reason the Browns have been the team consistently pointed to when considering landing spots for Cousins. Deshaun Watson is out of the picture for the 2025 season but remains a heavy cap burden. Cleveland can't move on from the quarterback just yet, leaving the franchise with limited options.
A wise decision would be to draft a quarterback and hope you find your future. Even with Watson on the roster it would be an easy fix. By the time the rookie contract was up, the Browns would have the needed cap space and have moved on from Watson. Still, the Browns never make the obvious choice and often cannot get out of their own way.
This is a piece of why Cousins remains a perfect fit for a franchise that is stuck. The veteran would be a potential selling point for fans and give some false hope of contending in a stacked division. Cleveland remains the most likely landing spot if Kirk Cousins is going to be released at some point in the offseason. A trade cannot be entirely ruled out, but it is difficult to make work with Cleveland's tight cap. Kirk Cousins landing in Cleveland remains one of the more likely ways this ends for the veteran.