Rather than constantly checking their watches to see if Aaron Rodgers has the time for them, wouldn’t it be easier to simply call the Atlanta Falcons and trade for quarterback Kirk Cousins to come to the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Maybe, but for a $100 million problem.
Atlanta knows what it will eventually do as their 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. has replaced Cousins atop Atlanta’s depth chart.
So why not shuffle him off to The Steel City?
ESPN has shared why the Falcons are clinging to Cousins … citing “stubbornness.”
“Stubbornness likely had something to do with it,” reporter Dan Graziano claimed. “They sign Cousins for $100 million in guaranteed money 14 months ago, and team ownership wasn’t thrilled about the idea of releasing him after doling out all that money for 14 not-so-great games in 2024.
“And when it came time to talk trade, the Falcons were asking interested teams to pay a significant portion of that remaining $37.5 million in guaranteed money. That meant those teams weren’t offering the Falcons a return that Atlanta deemed worthwhile.”
Stubbornness and money. That’s it.
There are national reports that insist the Steelers are “out” on Cousins; we believe the coach Mike Tomlin-led club has leaked that thought while seeking leverage.
Is Pittsburgh – which selected national champion Will Howard out of Ohio State n the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft – really going to let him compete for a starting job? Is Mason Rudolph a playoff QB? Is Skylar Thompson?
What was the point in Pittsburgh having traded a second-round pick to Seattle for wide receiver DK Metcalf if the Steelers weren’t also going to find someone to throw to him?
Of course …
The Steelers did find that – they thought. But climbing into bed with the cold-footed four-time MVP has yet to work, as the unsigned Rodgers keeps doing that thing he does …
Drama.
So the 36-year-old QB Cousins waits. … for some reasons that have precious little to do with football.
