Aaron Rodgers contingency plan? Steelers monitoring Falcons’ Kirk Cousins if plan falls through, per report

While it appears that Aaron Rodgers is signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team apparently has a contingency plan in place if something goes awry. 

During a recent SportsCenter appearance, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said that — based on conversations he had during last week’s NFL league meetings — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is “at the very least” on the Steelers’ radar. Fowler said that the Steelers were interested earlier offseason in possibly acquiring Cousins, who lost his starting job late in the 2024 season to then-rookie Michael Penix Jr.. 

Aaron Rodgers drops biggest hint yet that he’ll be signing with Steelers, rules out playing for the Saints

John Breech

It was reported last month that the Falcons have had discussions with multiple teams regarding a possible trade of Cousins, but Atlanta was asking teams to take on a significant portion — at least $20 million — of the remaining $37.5 million guaranteed on Cousins’ contract. The Falcons’ asking price might be more reasonable now, however. 

“As one source told me, if they were willing to take a small percentage, like let’s say $7 or $8 million of that money, a deal would be done by now,” Fowler said, via Bleacher Report. 

If the Falcons’ asking price has gone down, one would think that the Steelers would certainly consider trading for Cousins if Rodgers ends up not signing with them. Cousins, 36, is a four-time Pro Bowler with 163 career starts under his belt that includes four postseason starts. In 2023, he was enjoying arguably his best season to date before he suffered a season-ending injury after eight games. 

Cousins put up solid numbers in his first year in Atlanta, but those numbers were overshadowed by his league-high 16 interceptions. Cousins’ issues taking care of the ball largely were what led to him getting benched. Cousins has attributed his interception issues last year to playing through several injuries, including two that were sustained during Atlanta’s Week 10 loss to the New Orleans Saints. 

At this point, it appears that the more likely scenario is Rodgers signing with the Steelers, whose current quarterback room consists of veterans Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and rookie Will Howard. But if Rodgers decides to change course, the Steelers apparently aren’t out of options when it comes to acquiring another veteran quarterback for the 2025 season.