Now that the Atlanta Falcons are expected to release Kirk Cousins before the new league year, the rumor mill has started swirling about what lies ahead for the veteran QB. There's been talk of retirement, a return to Minnesota, and a potential TV career, so Cousins has some decisions to make.
In all likelihood, the 37-year-old will get to choose his own destination since a trade materializing appears unlikely. However, Bleacher Report's Brant Sobleski discussed five trades that would flip the NFL upside down where he pinpointed a surprise destination for Cousins: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For as much as Sobleski's assessment wants to see it, Cousins would be hard due to his contract. Due to his reworked contract, his $2.1 million salary in 2026 is easily tradeable, but he'll make a fully guaranteed $67.9 million in 2027 if he isn't cut before March 13, the third day of the new league year.
Mike McCarthy could try his hand at luring Kirk Cousins to the Pittsburgh Steelers if Aaron Rodgers leaves
The main reason Sobleski is pitching this idea to begin with is because of a major connection Cousins has on the Steelers' coaching staff. Mike McCarthy hired former Vikings pass game coordinator/TE's coach Brian Angelichio as their new OC, and he spent two years coaching the four-time Pro Bowler.
"In Pittsburgh, new head Mike McCarthy hired Brian Angelichio as his offensive coordinator. Angelichio served as Cousins' passing game coordinator during the the 27-year-old veteran's last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings."Brant Sobleski
The other motivation behind Sobleski's idea is due to a really weak quarterback class. The 2026 NFL Draft has only one upper-echelon QB prospect in Fernando Mendoza, and the Steelers would be foolish to mortgage their future on another mid-tier QB prospect like they did with Kenny Pickett.
Carson Beck and Ty Simpson are fine college QBs, but they aren't guys who will lead a team to the promised land. So for a team that's been in QB purgatory since Ben Roethlisberger retired, they desperately need stability from a player who can win them games, and Cousins is exactly that.
Sobleski's idea comes with one major hitch: now that the Steelers hired McCarthy, they're expected to bring back Aaron Rodgers to reunite the former MVP with his former Packers' head coach- and I have to assume their relationship played a factor in Pittsburgh hiring McCarthy in the first place.
For that reason alone, the four-time Pro Bowler ending up with the Steelers appears unlikely, but it also appears unlikely that he's even traded. The only guarantee right now is that Cousins won't be back with the Falcons, so it'll be interesting to see how his looming free agency plays out.