The Atlanta Falcons are still expected to move on from quarterback Kirk Cousins within the next week, and a likely landing spot has emerged for the veteran.
In a Monday appearance on “The Ken Carman Show” on 92.3 The Fan, Zac Jackson of The Athletic said Cousins is likely to wind up with the Cleveland Browns. Jackson added that Cousins has been the franchise’s top target for months.
“Probably by the weekend they’ll have Kirk Cousins,” Jackson said. “March 16 is when the Falcons owe him $10 million and everybody expects that they won’t pay him that. If they do, we’ll see what’s next, but probably Kirk Cousins always has been the No. 1 plan. That’s kind of been out there since December.”
Cousins has been linked to the Browns for roughly two months. At that time, the expectation was that he would be brought in to compete with Deshaun Watson for the starting job. Since then, Watson suffered another injury, which likely only solidified the Browns’ plans to acquire Cousins.
Cousins has made it clear to the Falcons that he wants to move on and start elsewhere after he lost his job to Michael Penix Jr. late last season. The Falcons have signaled that they do not feel they have to trade Cousins, but that may simply be a tactic to maintain some of his value.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million contract before last season, and it simply has not worked out. In 14 games, he threw for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns, but a league-worst 16 interceptions. Releasing him now would force Atlanta to absorb a whopping $65 million dead cap hit, but it is not clear if Cleveland or anyone else would be eager to take on his $40 million cap hit in a trade.