To me, it seems like Kirk Cousins is the quarterback who’s lying in the weeds. I think he’ll be starting somewhere, and he could prove to be the best of the offseason movers at quarterback.
Some patience is required. Cousins is currently under contract with the Falcons, who are maintaining for now that they intend to keep him as a high-priced insurance policy behind Michael Penix. But most likely they’ll either be trading him or simply cutting him loose. He’s due a $10 million bonus on Monday, which could trigger his release.
Right now, Aaron Rodgers is sucking up all of the oxygen as he mulls whether to sign with the Steelers, Giants or Vikings. But once he signs, I could see the Steelers or Giants turning their attention to the other quarterback who suffered an Achilles tear in 2023.
The Browns are also a possibility, and let’s not underestimate the quality of that team. Cleveland was terrible last year, but it was in the playoffs the previous season.
In weighing Cousins against Rodgers and the other quarterbacks who’ve been on the move, keep in mind that the Falcons likely will be paying almost all of his salary. Cousins at close to the league minimum looks a lot better when you factor in Rodgers (and his ridiculous drama) playing for perhaps $45-50 million, Sam Darnold at $34 million or Daniel Jones receiving $14 million.
Cousins was pretty lousy at the end of the season, but he says he suffered a shoulder injury in a Week 10 game against the Saints. After that, he threw 1 touchdown and 9 interceptions in his last five games.
But if we instead look at the eight games prior to that injury, I see Cousins completing 70 percent of his passes, with 16 touchdowns versus only 5 interceptions. He averaged 272 passing yards in those games.
If we zero in on that shoulder injury, looking at the per-start numbers in the eight games leading up to that point, Cousins was averaging the 5th-best quarterbacking numbers in the league.
Admittedly, I’m playing around with the numbers some here. I’m conveniently leaving out a lousy Week 1 game against the Steelers. And I’m leaving out rushing production, where Cousins provides essentially nothing.
But I consider Cousins to be a legit, starting-quality quarterback. I’m guessing some team – Steelers, Giants, Browns or Titans – will be happy with him.
| PASSING CHECK-IN, MIDSEASON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Pct | Yds/G | TD | Int | Pts/G |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 8 | 70.0% | 260.0 | 20 | 4 | 23.0 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 8 | 69.2% | 263.3 | 19 | 2 | 22.7 |
| Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 8 | 70.5% | 262.5 | 19 | 9 | 22.6 |
| Jordan Love, G.B. | 6 | 63.1% | 260.0 | 13 | 9 | 21.7 |
| Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 8 | 69.9% | 271.6 | 16 | 5 | 21.6 |
| Geno Smith, Sea. | 8 | 67.8% | 298.6 | 10 | 9 | 19.9 |
| Brock Purdy, S.F. | 8 | 65.1% | 277.9 | 12 | 7 | 19.9 |
| Sam Darnold, Min. | 8 | 67.5% | 241.6 | 15 | 9 | 19.6 |
| Jared Goff, Det. | 8 | 72.8% | 232.9 | 15 | 8 | 19.1 |
| Aaron Rodgers, NYJ | 8 | 62.4% | 242.5 | 14 | 6 | 19.1 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 7 | 65.4% | 257.0 | 10 | 8 | 18.6 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 8 | 62.8% | 221.1 | 15 | 2 | 18.6 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 8 | 69.3% | 239.6 | 11 | 8 | 17.5 |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 8 | 61.7% | 230.3 | 10 | 6 | 16.5 |
| C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 8 | 62.1% | 238.1 | 9 | 4 | 16.4 |
| Matthew Stafford, LAR | 8 | 65.9% | 243.1 | 8 | 6 | 16.2 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 8 | 66.0% | 218.1 | 10 | 1 | 15.9 |
| Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 8 | 71.6% | 212.3 | 10 | 3 | 15.6 |
| Jayden Daniels, Was. | 8 | 71.6% | 220.1 | 9 | 2 | 15.5 |
| Andy Dalton, Car. | 5 | 66.7% | 197.8 | 7 | 6 | 15.5 |
| Drake Maye, N.E. | 4 | 66.7% | 187.0 | 6 | 4 | 15.4 |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 4 | 75.6% | 204.3 | 5 | 4 | 15.2 |
| Kyler Murray, Ari. | 8 | 67.0% | 203.8 | 10 | 3 | 15.2 |
| Caleb Williams, Chi. | 8 | 61.9% | 211.5 | 9 | 5 | 15.1 |
| Derek Carr, N.O. | 5 | 65.4% | 205.0 | 6 | 4 | 15.1 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 8 | 65.6% | 211.8 | 8 | 3 | 14.6 |
| Bo Nix, Den. | 8 | 62.7% | 201.9 | 8 | 4 | 14.1 |
| Justin Fields, Pitt. | 5 | 65.0% | 190.0 | 5 | 1 | 13.5 |
| Gardner Minshew, L.V. | 6 | 70.1% | 181.7 | 5 | 4 | 12.4 |
| Will Levis, Ten. | 5 | 70.7% | 149.4 | 6 | 5 | 12.3 |
| Deshaun Watson, Cle. | 6 | 66.1% | 163.2 | 4 | 1 | 10.8 |
| Jacoby Brissett, N.E. | 4 | 57.7% | 143.8 | 2 | 1 | 9.2 |
| Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 5 | 43.9% | 149.2 | 2 | 6 | 9.1 |
—Ian Allan