The Falcons offseason isn’t about the new Michael Penix Jr. era beginning. It’s not about free agency or even the NFL Draft, which might finally net an impactful pass rusher. It’s all about a Kirk Cousins trade.
Can Atlanta convince a desperate team to take on a portion of Cousins’ salary to facilitate a trade? Would an interested club part ways with more draft capital if Atlanta were willing to eat a majority of the salary? Well, D. Orlando Ledbetter doesn’t see either of those happening.
The Atlanta beat writer and Falcons insider recently appeared on Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan and dove into the scenarios, basically quashing any hope that a Kirk Cousins trade to the Browns could come to fruition.
The Browns’ only interest in Cousins is if it’s a similar situation to Russell Wilson last year, who was released by the Broncos and signed essentially a league minimum deal with the Steelers.
On the flip side, the Falcons have already paid Cousins, so the only way they’d eat some of the salary and move Cousins is if Cleveland were willing to part ways with more valuable draft capital, which seems unlikely in D Led’s eyes. So, is there any scenario where a Kirk Cousins trade happens? There is one, according to the Falcons reporter.
“Only thing I can come up with is he (Kirk Cousins) comes back to the Falcons and renegotiates the contract and gives back money. And how many times has that happened? Zero,” Ledbetter said.
This is an idea that has been kicked around and could make some sense if Cousins wants to play badly enough. This is a guy who many describe as one of the all-time greats when it comes to free agency. The veteran has held organizations’ feet to the fire every opportunity he’s had, and his bank account has reaped the benefits.
It would be a long shot, but Cousins is in the twilight years of his career, and the Falcons have no incentive to release him. This isn’t a common situation. Cousins will be 37 years old in August and 38 years old when the 2026 season rolls around. Is he really willing to watch what could be the final years of his career waste away on the bench in Atlanta just so he can collect a check?
It’s a risk I’d be willing to take if I was Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris. The only issue? Ledbetter noted that the league and/or its players’ association would step in.
“That’s the only way I can come up with, and we were talking with people down at the owners’ meetings like, ‘Yeah, that might even be a violation of the CBA,’” D Led continued. “He (Cousins) says, ‘Okay, here take back $40 million. My salary cap is now this. We voided that contract, we got a new contract for $1, now trade me.’ There will be all kinds of union, lawyers fighting for that kind of ground breaking situation.”
Here are a couple of scenarios where I could see a Kirk Cousins trade coming together:
-The Browns are desperate enough to up the trade compensation, so the Falcons eat most, if not all, of Cousins’ salary
-The Falcons are so desperate to get Cousins out of Atlanta that they’re willing to take on a portion of Cousins’ salary for a minimum return in a trade
-Cousins is desperate enough to play that he’s willing (and it’s legal) to renegotiate his contract to facilitate a trade to Cleveland
Photographer: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
