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As the saga between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers continues, one has to wonder what the second option would be if that situation were to fall through. While some predict Rodgers to end up with the Steelers, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hints that there is an option for Plan B.
Speaking on SportsCenter, Fowler would be asked what a possible fallback plan would be for Pittsburgh in the event Rodgers isn't on the team. He would speak about Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins being on the team's “radar” as he speaks on the trade scenarios on how that impacts his contract.
“I would say Kirk Cousins, I mean, I had some conversations with people this week to led me to believe that Cousins is, at the very least, on the Steelers' radar if something were to fall through on Rogers,” Fowler said. “Now here's how they could make that happen. Cousins has $37,5 million in guarantees between this year and next year; somebody's on the hook for that, whether it's Atlanta or someone else. So to facilitate a trade, Atlanta would need a team to offset some of that money, whether it's $4 million, $20 million, whatever it is.”
#Steelers have sights set on Aaron Rodgers and have Mason Rudolph in the fold – is Kirk Cousins a viable Plan B?@SportsCenter with @aminajadeTV pic.twitter.com/E7rmr6WWDG
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 26, 2025
A hurdle for the Steelers in the possible pursuit of Kirk Cousins
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With the Steelers awaiting the decision of Rodgers, Cousins is a viable backup option if that won't get done, especially since he probably wants to start for a team rather than be the No. 2 option. However, Fowler also states that the Falcons have taken a hard stance that the team does not want to trade the veteran quarterback.
“But the feeling around the league is that Atlanta has not been willing to budge on this,” Fowler said. “They haven't shown a lot of interest in trading Cousins. It would take a hefty price tag for another team to wiggle that out, as one source told me, if they're willing to take a small percentage, like, let's say, seven or $8 million of that money, a deal would be done by now. There was interest earlier in the off-season, right now, Pittsburgh might be the only hope for Cousins, or he's sort of stuck in Atlanta.”
Cousins would start last season for Atlanta, but would sit for rookie Michael Penix Jr., who finished off the year as the No. 1 option as he was selected with a top 10 pick. It remains to be seen who the starting quarterback will be for Pittsburgh, but if it isn't Rodgers, fans should watch out for Cousins.
