Kirk Cousins and The NFL Rumor that Hits as Bad News
Kirk Cousins isn’t particularly interested in being a backup quarterback. A problem arises, though, when it comes to offloading the older passer: who is going to take on that monstrous contract?
In the NFL, youth and money tend to win out. Unpack that thought a little bit. Teams, generally speaking, are in the business of winning (and making money). So, that can often mean opting for younger, cheaper talent. Yes, there are older quarterbacks who have proven capable of playing well late in their careers, but a team is nevertheless going to adhere to the trend — cheap youth — more often than not.
Kirk Cousins and The NFL Rumor
How does this impact Mr. Cousins? The issue could go beyond just Michael Penix Jr.
Indeed, one wonders if the recent word around Jameis Winston will end up impacting him, too. The former No. 1 pick isn’t a franchise passer but he’s capable of offering reasonably strong football. He can do so for considerably cheaper than Cousins and has several less miles on the odometer, too. Cousins turns 37 in August. Winston is going to hit 32 in January.
Consider the word from PFF, a piece that dropped Adam Thielen into the league’s rumors.
More broadly, the piece discusses a total of fifteen players who could get moved via trade. Jameis Winston is among them. Consider some of the rationale from Bradley Locker: “Winston is deep into his second act as a journeyman backup. That road may include another stop soon.”
Further: “While with the Browns in 2024, Winston tallied a 69.5 PFF passing grade with 11 big-time throws and 18 turnover-worthy plays. The 31-year-old displayed that he’s still capable of slinging the ball at a high level in spurts.”
Finally, there’s the situation with the Giants. The presence of Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart — a more accomplished veteran alongside a highly-picked rookie — makes things tricky for Winston in New York. Locker assesses that precise dynamic before concluding that “Winston [is] the team’s presumptive QB3.”
The thinking is that Jameis Winston could end up being a desirable trade add for a QB-needy team: “New York could keep the former first overall pick in that role, but Winston figures to be most teams’ top trade target when a quarterback injury inevitably happens.”
Currently, Winston is taking a $3 million bite out of the Giants’ cap in 2025. His deal spans a pair of seasons, so he’s scheduled to account for $5 million on next year’s budget. Pretty much any team in the NFL could fit those numbers into the mix. Note that there’s a $2 million signing bonus, money that would remain behind in New York if a trade occurred; the acquiring team would just be accepting $6 million across the two seasons.
Goodness, some team(s) may even look at the two-year deal as a good thing, especially if Winston gets brought aboard as an injury replacement. Let the veteran start for the remainder of the 2025 season and then allow him to slide into being a high-end backup for 2026.
Kirk Cousins, in contrast, is among the pricier passers in the NFL. Pretty easily, he’s taking the largest bite out of Atlanta’s cap in 2025 with a cap charge sitting at a cool $40 million. The number soars to $57.5 million in both of 2026 and 2027. The Falcons could save $27.5 million by trading away the veteran, but one wonders if he’ll be a coveted option given the price tag and the possibility of Jameis Winston.
In 2024, Kirk Cousins completed 66.9% of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions (fourteen games). In 2024, Jameis Winston completed 61.1% of his passes for 2,121 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions (twelve games).
The aforementioned PFF piece mentions young passer Kenny Pickett as another possible trade candidate at quarterback.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
