It was previously reported that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins could wait “through the offseason” to make a final call about his plans for the 2026 campaign. That was before numerous clubs previously linked with Cousins went in other directions regarding their quarterback situations in the early days of the current league year.
It now sounds as if Cousins won’t be in a rush to sign with any team this month.
What Kirk Cousins might be waiting for
For a piece published on Friday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US shared that Cousins could now wait until at least after the draft wraps up in late April to sign with a team.
“Every year,” La Canfora explained, “some team suffers a devastating quarterback injury during spring practices or training camp, and some teams that draft quarterbacks in the top few rounds also tend to find out pretty quickly that the prospect is not going to be ready to contribute early in the season. It might require one of those situations to emerge for Cousins to find his next club.”
La Canfora also said that the Pittsburgh Steelers are “monitoring Cousins and view him as a viable alternative if Aaron Rodgers opts to retire.” It has been reported elsewhere that the Steelers have no real interest in Cousins and that “there’s optimism in the Steelers’ building” that Rodgers will ultimately sign a one-year deal with the club for the second straight offseason.
Is this team the only real starting option for Kirk Cousins?
La Canfora added that “it seems unlikely” Cousins would accept a role as a backup “without exhausting any opportunity to start.” The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to make Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick of this year’s draft, but Las Vegas may want to start Cousins so that Mendoza can develop as a backup.
“Las Vegas is still looking for a more established quarterback to buy them time if they need it, if presumptive first overall pick Fernando Mendoza is not ready to start Week 1,” La Canfora wrote.
Based on previous comments, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady may prefer for Mendoza to sit and learn behind an older quarterback such as Cousins. However, it sounds like Cousins may only sign with the Raiders this spring if he is guaranteed their Week 1 starting job.