From the sounds of it, veteran Kirk Cousins will not be on the Pittsburgh Steelers ' list of potential passers next year. Instead, the former Washington and Minnesota signal-caller might be an expensive understudy for Michael Penix Jr. and the Atlanta Falcons .
"#Falcons GM Terry Fontenot said they're comfortable keeping Kirk Cousins as the backup, paying him $27.5M in 2025 while also triggering another $10M to become fully guaranteed for 2026 on March 17," Ari Meirov wrote Tuesday on X.
Cousins had been tied to the Steelers by oddsmakers earlier this offseason. Bookies.com's Adam Thompson listed Pittsburgh as a +300 favorite to acquire him. He'd signed a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta last March.
"In Minnesota in the last couple of offseasons, it was trending somewhat toward being year to year, and as we talked to Atlanta, it felt like this was a place that if I play to the level I expect to play, I can retire a Falcon," Cousins said last year after signing with Atlanta. "That was something that really excited me and that's the goal."
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins warming up.
Despite putting pen to paper on a deal that promised to pay him $90 million for last season and the next, Cousins' time with the Falcons hasn't gone as planned. Being on the same page with ownership, the front office, and coaching was a reason why he joined the Falcons. Then, they drafted Penix in the first round of last year's draft.
Cousins went 7-7 as a starter for Atlanta last season, one of those losses coming against the Steelers in the season opener. He threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and had a league-high 16 interceptions.
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