Through three weeks, there are already a handful of injuries that have happened to quarterbacks around the league. In these situations, depending on the injury, teams are looking for quarterbacks in the trade market. Kirk Cousins is the one player whom many think is getting a lot of calls, but the opposite is happening, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
“No one has called the Falcons about Kirk Cousins,” Rapoport said. “None of these injuries, except Joe Burrow, are a long-term injury and the Bengals are simply going with Jake Browning moving forward there. My understanding is the Falcons would, in fact, trade Kirk Cousins, but they're going to ask for a lot in return. They're going to ask for someone to eat some salary and a premium pick, just because of the unbelievable value that Cousins has as their backup quarterback in case something happens to Michael Penix Jr.”
From @NFLGameDay Morning: The #49ers will start Mac Jones today, but Brock Purdy's return is coming; Plus, all these backup QBs are starting this week and no calls (yet) for Kirk Cousins. pic.twitter.com/KxaAfX3dbn
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 21, 2025
The Falcons signed Cousins to a big contract last offseason, but he didn't even finish one season as the starter, as they benched him late in the year for Penix. This offseason, Cousins let it be known that he still wanted to be a starter in the league, but the Falcons weren't going to trade him unless the deal made sense for them.
It looks like they're still in the same mindset, and there's a good chance that he could be on the roster until the end of the season.
In a report from a few days ago, some teams think that Cousins' career is ‘done' according to Josh Palmer and Dianna Russini.
“From what I can gather, the Atlanta Falcons are not trying to move him at this point,” Palmer said on the Scoop City podcast. “They don’t have any idea about what they want to do after this season. But the thought has been, ‘We want to keep him on this roster, unless there’s a team that’s going to come in and say, ‘We’ll pay for his full salary.’ And I just don’t see a team willing to do that.”