It’s fair to say the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to find consistent quarterback play over the past few seasons. This offseason is about as inconsistent as it gets. As we get ready to conclude the first week of free agency, the Steelers have nobody aside from Mason Rudolph at the position. Their current plan seems to be to wait for Aaron Rodgers. If that doesn’t work out, though, Fox Sports’ Keyshawn Johnson thinks Kirk Cousins should be the answer.
“I think they [Steelers] should absolutely try and get the deal done with Aaron Rodgers,” Johnson said on SPEAK on Thursday. “But if for some reason it fails, and they can’t make a run at Russell Wilson, you go and you knock on Atlanta’s door and you say, ‘What do you want for Kirk Cousins?’…He’s won a lot of games in this league… What else you gonna do?”
When Art Rooney II gave his end-of-the-year press conference, he signaled that the team might re-sign either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. If you’d told any Steeler fan back then that several weeks later, Cousins’ name would be brought up as the potential starter, they’d wouldn’t believe you.
But that’s the situation the Steelers find themselves in. Justin Fields has moved on. Sam Darnold is off the market as well. They had every chance to bring Russell Wilson back. But he’s taking visits now with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. They don’t have much of an option at the moment aside from waiting for Rodgers, who might not even pick them.
Johnson ends his statement asking ‘what else’ the Steelers are going to do if they miss out on Rodgers. None of the options at that point are particularly exciting. Rudolph did have a nice stretch toward the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh the first time around, but he struggled in Tennessee last year. The draft is always an option. Yet, the odds of them landing a prospect who can confidently start in 2025 are slim.
Given all of that information, Cousins is the best option. On the surface, that’s not exciting to say about a 36-year-old QB with a recent Achilles injury. However, there are reasons for optimism. It took Rodgers himself a while to get going in 2024, recovering from his own Achilles injury. Once he got comfortable, he looked much better over the second half of the season. Cousins could have a similar resurgence.
All things considered, the Steelers weren’t in the best spot to actually upgrade the position this offseason anyways. Right now, they’re seeing that come true in front of their eyes. No matter who they choose, it looks like the Steelers are going to have to punt a long-term decision at the position to next offseason. For 2025, Cousins may surprisingly be their only option.
