Kirk Cousins DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said he did not see quarterback Kirk Cousins at voluntary organized team activities on Tuesday. It shouldn't come as a surprise to many after the 36-year-old veteran signal-caller had a disastrous first year in Atlanta in 2024. He didn't play well coming off an Achilles tear the year prior and was eventually benched late in the year for rookie first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. Cousins will enter the 2025 campaign as Penix's backup, but he desperately would prefer to be traded to a team that will give him a chance to start again. Among the teams that could be willing to trade for him include the Browns, Steelers and Vikings, but the Falcons are going to need to facilitate a trade by eating a large portion of his $27.5 million guaranteed salary for 2025, which they so far have not been willing to do.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is "at least" on the Pittsburgh Steelers' "radar" at the moment, even though free-agent QB Aaron Rodgers remains their preferred choice. The Steelers continue to wait for Rodgers to make a decision on whether he wants to play another season in the NFL. Cousins has $37.5 million in guarantees between 2025 and 2026, so the Falcons would need to offset some of that money to facilitate a trade. Fowler said that the feeling around the league is that Atlanta hasn't been willing to budge on that and haven't shown much interest in trying to trade Cousins this offseason. Right now, the Steelers might be the only hope for Cousins getting out of the backup role in Atlanta if something were to fall through between Rodgers and Pittsburgh. If Cousins is traded after June 1, the Falcons would save $27.5 million against the 2025 salary cap.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins could watch the first round of this year's NFL draft on Thursday night to see what the QB landscape looks like before waiving his no-trade clause on Friday to allow for a possible trade. However, Underdog's James Palmer writes that it seems more and more likely that Cousins could be waiting to see how the second round plays out on Friday night before making any decisions. The 36-year-old veteran signal-caller has made it clear that he wants to be a starter elsewhere over serving as Michael Penix Jr.'s backup in 2025. After Penix took over for the struggling Cousins late last year, the veteran QB prefers to be traded to a team that doesn't have a young up-and-coming signal-caller on the roster already. The Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings have been mentioned as the three most likely candidates to consider trading for Cousins during the draft.