All signs seem to be pointing toward Aaron Rodgers signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. No deal is done yet, and Rodgers could surprise everyone and retire. If that happens, the Steelers might be forced to consider other options at quarterback. Kirk Cousins might be the best alternative. The Steelers would have to beat out other teams, like the Cleveland Browns, that could want to trade for Cousins. NFL insider James Palmer recently revealed some key information on Cousins’ potential future.
“The Browns had called the Falcons very early in this process, I was told, and Kirk kind of squashed that to some extent, to my understanding,” Palmer said Wednesday on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel. “Kind of made it through certain intermediaries to get back to the Browns that he wasn’t interested in going there.
“Doesn’t mean that’s shot down for good, but that’s what happened in the beginning of this process.”
The Browns have been one of the most-linked teams to Cousins. Their owner recently made it clear that the team thinks the Deshaun Watson experiment is over. That leaves them with Kenny Pickett as their likely starting quarterback at the moment. As Steelers fans know, that isn’t ideal.
Therefore, they’re in the market for a quarterback. Browns HC Kevin Stefanski was with Cousins for a few years with the Minnesota Vikings. That’s why it’s a logical landing spot for the veteran quarterback. However, it doesn’t seem like he’s interested in going to Cleveland.
Pittsburgh could be a nice destination for him if he wants to join a contender, but Palmer revealed that the Steelers don’t seem very interested in Cousins anymore.
“The Steelers called and kicked the tires early, but my understanding is that Arthur Smith, being the former head coach in Atlanta, still knows plenty of people in that building and kind of got the word on where things are with Kirk in terms of his play and where he’s at in terms of his play as a quarterback,” Palmer said. “The Steelers, obviously, have fallen off.”
Given Cousins’ play last year, that makes sense. He didn’t look like the same quarterback.
The biggest example is how many turnovers he had. In 14 games, Cousins threw 18 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. That isn’t going to work for Mike Tomlin. The Steelers head coach values quarterbacks who protect the football. Plus, Cousins seemed sapped of many of his powers due to the Achilles injury he sustained during the 2023 season.
Also, the Steelers seem confident that they’re going to land Rodgers, which would take them out of the running for Cousins. Although Rodgers also didn’t look like himself last year, he started to play better near the end of the year. There’s probably more upside with him than Cousins. However, if a potential deal with Rodgers falls through, the Steelers might have to once again consider Cousins.
