It's been an odd offseason for the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Kirk Cousins. After the team committed to Michael Penix Jr. as their franchise quarterback going forward, one might have thought Atlanta would cut ties with Cousins in some fashion, and sooner rather than later.
But, the Falcons have held onto him into the free agency period. In fact, last week's deadline passing made things even more curious as Cousins' $10 million roster bonus for 2026 became guaranteed. Yet, he's still on the team.
Atlanta has simply been holding out to see if they'll be able to get something in return for a Cousins trade rather than having to hold or cut him and, now, it appears as though the Falcons might have been onto something.
Not many would have believed Atlanta could trade Cousins' contract, but NFL insider Josina Anderson has reported that the Falcons are, indeed, getting interest.
"I was just told these two quarterback names came up in recent preliminary* trade inquiries or internal discussions, per a league source: Kirk Cousins and Will Levis," she posted on her social media.
The Falcons are getting calls on a Kirk Cousins trade and a possible price has been discussed
“'Atlanta has been getting calls.' (I heard talk of a 3rd-round pick being potentially actionable)," Anderson wrote.
Not only have the Falcons been getting calls, according to Anderson, but it looks like a third-round pick might be the price point for his services.
Should Atlanta be able to move Cousins for a third-round pick, at this point, that would be considered a massive win. No one even knew if they'd be able to trade him to begin with, considering his monstrous contract.
Teams were likely waiting for the Falcons to release him, but Atlanta dug in their heels and has kept him on the roster. Now, it might just be paying off to have done so rather than a simple release.
Current quarterback-needy teams include the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers. It feels like the Titans are going to draft Cam Ward at no. 1overall and the Steelers could wind up with Aaron Rodgers.
Of course, some team is going to get Shedeur Sanders and another will sign Russell Wilson. But, are all four of those aforementioned players going to start from Day 1? Rodgers will, but what about the other three? Cousins could be the perfect target for a team drafting the likes of Sanders, one would imagine.
We'll have to see if any added momentum shakes out here in the coming days as far as a Cousins trade goes.