It’s fair to say that Kirk Cousins’s spell with the Atlanta Falcons hasn’t gone according to plan. The veteran signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the team in March 2024, but was benched for then-rookie Michael Penix after just 14 games.
He has remained the team’s backup to start the 2025 season, having not been traded away during the offseason as many expected. However, injuries and poor performances have left multiple teams in need of quarterback help, with Cousins among the leading candidates to move teams in the coming weeks.
Which teams could make a move for the four-time Pro Bowler before November’s trade deadline?
Most Likely Landing Spots for Kirk Cousins as Trade Rumors Accelerate
Cousins has three years remaining on his deal, including this current season, but he will likely be released in 2026 unless he agrees to a new deal on another team.
A heavy dead-money hit will be worthwhile to avoid significant future money owed to Cousins on his current contract. With that in mind, the quarterback may prefer to prove himself elsewhere to help him attract a better deal in March.
Few teams have the cap room to take Cousins on his current $27.5 million 2025 salary. But if the financials can be worked out, these three teams could offer Cousins a chance to resurrect his career.
New Orleans Saints
Cousins blamed an injury sustained against the New Orleans Saints for the dip in form that saw him lose his starting job in Atlanta. The veteran quarterback had led the Falcons to a 6-3 record heading into that game, but the Week 10 matchup with the Saints started a four-game losing streak.
With the Saints sitting 0-4 and looking unlikely to turn things around, Cousins could remain in the NFC South and prove himself on a team that needs a boost. Derek Carr’s shock retirement left the Saints without a veteran leader on offense, and the team failed to replace that experience during the offseason.
Bringing in a veteran quarterback may seem like an odd choice for a team with no playoff hopes, but none of the team’s current quarterbacks appear to be the franchise’s future. Spencer Rattler could be forgiven for struggling in 2024, with both his starting receivers sidelined, but he has now lost all 10 of his NFL starts.
Rookie Tyler Shough may have been a second-round pick, but the fact that he lost out to Rattler for the starting job is telling. Shough is the same age as Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields, and should have been able to beat out a former fifth-round pick with no wins in six starts.
If it weren’t for the Saints’ financial woes, they would be the perfect team for Cousins to see out the remaining few years of his career. However, a one-year rental might be possible if Cousins is prepared to bet on himself.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals started the season 2-0 for the first time since HC Zac Taylor joined the team in 2019. But rather than celebrating their fast start, the Bengals were left facing another lost season after the star quarterback was ruled out for months through injury.
Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury put a spear through the team’s hopes of a successful season, with backup Jake Browning floundering in his place. The Bengals have lost two straight games with their backup starting and have looked terrible in both games.
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Of 37 qualifying quarterbacks, Browning ranks dead last in PFSN’s QB Impact score, having thrown three touchdowns to five interceptions so far this year. The Bengals have some of the best skill players in the NFL, and even competent quarterback play would make them playoff contenders once more.
The Bengals have a little more cap space than New Orleans and would be a far more attractive landing spot from a playing perspective. Cincinnati would also be a one-year job, with Burrow the team’s clear franchise star.
Cleveland Browns
After drafting two rookie quarterbacks within two rounds of each other and carrying four potential starters throughout the preseason, the Cleveland Browns are still in flux. The AFC North strugglers have named Dillon Gabriel their Week 5 starter, replacing veteran Joe Flacco, whose NFL future is now in doubt.
The veteran’s two touchdowns are tied for the fewest among 33 qualifying quarterbacks, while his six interceptions are second-most behind only Geno Smith’s seven. Flacco’s 58.1% completion percentage is also second-worst on that list, while his veteran leadership has yielded just one win in four games.
Shedeur Sanders remains the team’s third choice, despite being the logical next man up after Gabriel, which has provoked angry reactions online and in the media.
“If you’re Shedeur Sanders right now, whatever you’re doing, I’m taking it up a whole other level, because Dillon [Gabriel] is not promised to stay in there.”
—@LRiddickESPN on Dillon Gabriel being named Browns’ starting QB pic.twitter.com/eVogt3Vps1
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 1, 2025
However, a benched quarterback typically only drops one place on the depth chart, and Sanders remains more likely to replace Gabriel as the starter than Flacco as the backup. Sanders has also struggled with pre-snap aspects of quarterback play in practice, resulting in him falling behind his teammates.
A trade for a new starter remains a long way off, but if Gabriel struggles, and Sanders is struggling as much as many have suggested, it’s not an impossibility. The team has already given up on Flacco, who may even retire before the end of the year.
HC Kevin Stefanski had success with Cousins during their time together with the Minnesota Vikings and could find himself in a desperate situation if neither of the rookies works out.
