Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that NFL teams believe the Falcons would want an interested team in acquiring veteran backup QB Kirk Cousins to absorb most of what’s left of his $27.5 million base salary in a potential trade.

That’s going to limit the pool of potential landing spots for Cousins quite a bit. Beyond that, Jones points out that Cousins also has a no-trade clause, so even if a team is willing to take on his salary, the veteran quarterback would still need to sign off on a deal.

Cousins, 37, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons.

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons this offseason. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.

In 2024, Cousins appeared in 14 games for the Falcons and completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.

We will have more on Cousins as it becomes available.

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