NFL rumors: QB Kirk Cousins remains in play for the Browns

For those who are scoring at home at the available options for the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback job, you can go ahead and mark off Russell Wilson, as you have already heard. That list is pretty long from when the names were added one by one.

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Long gone are Sam Darnold, Jimmy G, Cooper Rush, Daniel Jones, and Justin Fields. Still available is Aaron Rodgers. Or try Tyler Huntley and Joe Flacco again. Give Carson Wentz, Drew Lock, or Gardner Minshew a try?

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Or perhaps a trade can be arranged. Joe Milton of the New England Patriots or Anthony Richardson from the Indianapolis Colts, perhaps.

But there is one more. One guy who is not new to Browns fans was just thought of as being unavailable and no longer on the grid.

Kirk Cousins, under contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons signed Cousins to a hefty four-year $180 million deal during the off-season last year. Then, recently, the front office picked up Cousins’ $10 million roster bonus for the upcoming season.

But it is very clear the Falcons don’t plan on using Cousins. They drafted Michael Penix in the first round of last year’s NFL draft and inserted him as their new starting quarterback late in the season. That isn’t going to suddenly change. Penix is Atlanta’s starter.

So, why do they need Cousins and his huge contract? They don’t. What the 10 million did was keep him under their wing and use him for trade bait. And the fact that Wilson signed with the New York Football Giants has played into the Falcons’ advantage.

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Currently, there are three clubs that do not have a clear-cut starter at the QB position: the Browns, the Tennesee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams had NFL-starting caliber quarterbacks and did not retain any of them. For the Browns, on their roster is newly acquired Kenny Pickett, while the Steelers have career backup Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, who is under a reserve/future contract, in their QB room.

The Titas are expected to draft Cam Ward, but even that has been called into question by an insider.

Atlanta realizes that both of these clubs need a seasoned veteran such as Cousins. The fact that both teams will most likely draft a young buck in this year’s draft is a bonus because Cousins can become that bridge quarterback and tutor. It is also an advantage that the two QB-starved teams are in the same division, and each one definitely needs to come out on top of this situation and get Cousins in a trade.

But there is an issue. And it’s a situation that the Falcons cannot get around.

Yet.

Cousins also has a no-trade clause in his contract. That means, as long as Atlanta doesn’t cut him, he could be holding a clipboard on gamedays for three more years. His salary cap hit in 2025 is $40 million. That goes up to $57.5 million per year for the final two seasons. If Cousins were playing, nobody would say a single word. But for Cousins to dress and only play if Penix was to become injured? For how much?

Of course, the Falcons want out of that deal. But not for free. They want something in return - a draft pick or two. Maybe a player. One of those two teams will need to ante up.

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That may be so, but the no-trade clause is a temporary snag for Atlanta for the moment. Here’s why. If the clause weren’t in Cousins’ contract, most likely he would have already been traded to Cleveland or Pittsburgh.

For now, for right now, Cousins is blocking a trade. Why? From a hard lesson he learned.

Cousins wants to wait until after the NFL draft in April. In a mailbag response on Wednesday, Albert Breer followed up on his Tuesday report that Cousins is still a fit for Cleveland and a trade between the two teams could be worked out before the draft takes place, even if the deal has to wait for the QB’s approval:

I do think if the Browns decide to take Carter with the second pick, then Cousins would appeal to them, given the relationship the quarterback has with Kevin Stefanski from Minnesota. It would be, in my mind, a nice fit for everyone, and allow Cleveland more flexibility on taking a quarterback in the draft. Cousins is amenable to teams working out trade terms on a contingency ahead of the draft, so maybe that’s how this one plays out over the coming weeks.

If and when he is traded, he wants to be that team’s starting quarterback. That is what happened to him when he went from the Minnesota Vikings to the Falcons. Yes, he signed this whooping deal that has paid him very handsomely already with plenty of riches to come, but he arrived in Atlanta as the starter.

Five weeks after signing the Falcons deal, the franchise drafted Penix with the eighth overall pick in Round 1. Boom! For the then 35-year-old Cousins, it was an instant death smack. A team does not draft a quarterback in Round 1 and not expect him to do amazing things right away. Sure, other positions can be groomed, but not quarterback. No more learning from the veteran for a few seasons.

Not only is the rookie signal caller young, but he is a sexy pick. As soon as any issues for Cousins begin, the crowd will instantly be calling out the young buck’s name. Plus, for the team, Penix is on a rookie deal for rookie money, which is a saving grace for any ailing salary cap situation.

Cousins doesn’t want to be traded to the Browns, and then with the second overall pick in Round 2 they take either Cam Ward from Miami, or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, or even Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss. Or Cousins is dealt to Pittsburgh and with their pick at #21 in Round 1 they choose a quarterback.

Then, it is right back to the situation he left with Atlanta. Come in as bona fide starter, the franchise drafts their QB of the future, and before the season has concluded, Cousins becomes friendly with the clipboard again.

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But by allowing the Falcons to wait until the draft has concluded, he can then give them the go-ahead and choose his city, thus choosing his situation. Cousins can then be traded and waive his no-trade clause in the process.

And it just may be in Cleveland. Most likely, the Browns will not select a QB with the second pick after the Tennessee Titans take Ward with the first overall pick. But Cleveland has the first pick in Round 2, the third pick in Round 3, and also pick #94 later in the third round. It is quite possible that a young quarterback’s name could be heard with any of these selections.

Maybe Cousins would be okay with grooming a second or third-round guy while he guides the Browns’ offense for two seasons.