Coming into the offseason, Art Rooney II suggested that he’d like to bring back either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson this offseason. Fields has signed elsewhere, and there’s been a lack of reporting regarding anything concrete about Wilson’s potential return. Now, the Steelers seem to be waiting for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision. If they get too desperate, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer thinks Kirk Cousins could be an option.
“It can kind of be one of those things that can help everybody,” Breer said on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday. “The Falcons get off the hook for some of the money. The new team gets its quarterback at an affordable rate. I think there’s some solution that could look like that if the Giants or Steelers are in a desperate spot after all this. And I don’t think [Kirk] Cousins is a bad solution.”
Coming into free agency, nobody really thought Cousins would have had any chance of becoming the Steelers starter in 2025. Yes, the Steelers are taking a look at every possible option. Still, Cousins hasn’t felt like a realistic candidate. To be clear, Breer isn’t exactly implying that here. However, the fact that Cousins is coming up as a name if the Steelers end up being desperate shows their lack of urgency at the position as a whole this offseason.
It doesn’t take a genius to assume that Steelers fans won’t be happy if Kirk Cousins is brought in. He’s in his late 30s and suffered a brutal Achilles injury midway through the 2023 season. He returned for 2024 but struggled and looked to be a shell of his former self.
However, there could be some reason for optimism. Rodgers tore his Achilles at the start of the 2023 season, and it took him a while to get his feet wet in 2024. Towards the second half of the season, though, he looked much more comfortable and played better. There may be hope for a similar resurgence with Cousins.
At the end of the day, though, this is not where the Steelers want to be. Option A is to wait for a 41-year-old player with a recent Achilles injury to consider joining your team. Option B is to bring back Russell Wilson. He flamed out along with the rest of the roster at the end of last season. If neither of those works, the Steelers might find themselves seriously considering Kirk Cousins, a 36-year-old QB, also coming off a recent Achilles injury. Not ideal.
