Over the past few weeks, Kirk Cousins has been mentioned as the backup plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers in case Aaron Rodgers doesn’t sign with the team. However, according to Peter Schrager, that move might not be the most suitable one.
“They could have traded for Kirk Cousins in March. They could have traded for Kirk Cousins in April. To me, this seems like a desperate move to now say: ‘Ok. We will pay the Kirk Cousins salary and we’ll eat all this cost and we’re gonna bring him in.’ To me, it’s you’re with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard right now and you’re waiting on Aaron Rodgers. Is Kirk Cousins going to be a better option than Mason Rudolph with that salary?”
The Falcons have been reluctant to trade Cousins despite Michael Penix Jr. being their starting quarterback. It’s important to remember that, just last year, Atlanta gave Kirk a contract with $100 million guaranteed.
Can the Falcons trade Kirk Cousins?
Yes. The Falcons can trade Kirk Cousins at any time they choose, but there’s a very important detail. The contract includes a clause that allows the quarterback to veto any team he’s not convinced by.
In an exercise conducted by ESPN, Ben Solak points out that the appropriate compensation for Cousins in a trade would be a sixth-round pick. However, the main issue to be discussed will be who absorbs the majority of his salary ($27.5 million remaining in full guarantees).
By the way, in that same ESPN piece on hypothetical trades, Dan Graziano values Cousins at a fifth-round pick and a seventh-round pick. Meanwhile, Jeremy Fowler said that if the Browns were to enter the bidding, the price could be Kenny Pickett and possibly a sixth-round pick, with Atlanta sending back a seventh-rounder along with Cousins.