Last Wednesday, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was officially released by the Atlanta Falcons, making him a free agent for the second time since 2024. There has been some chatter about some potential landing spots for Cousins this offseason, but it's possible that he won't end up with a new team until Aaron Rodgers makes a decision about his future in the NFL.
Rodgers spent the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he hasn't revealed if he's going to return to the team for the 2026 campaign or retire yet. If the former Green Bay Packers quarterback does end up closing the door on his NFL career, then the Steelers might turn their attention to Cousins.
NFL insider Jason La Canfora, formerly of CBS Sports and the Washington Post, recently shared that Cousins "is among the top options for Pittsburgh" if Rodgers doesn't return to the Steelers for another season.
Then, on Monday, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer revealed that Pittsburgh and the Las Vegas Raiders might be the only two teams remaining that could offer Cousins a starting opportunity in 2026.
With the Raiders, Breer says Cousins would be "the placeholder placeholder for presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza", and the Steelers would become a possibility if, of course, Rodgers retires.
Las Vegas Raiders would be better fit for former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins than Pittsburgh Steelers
When it comes to picking between signing with Las Vegas or waiting on Rodgers to see if a spot in Pittsburgh opens up, Cousins would be much better off joining the silver and black.
It would be a much easier transition for the veteran quarterback since he's already worked with new Las Vegas head coach, Klint Kubiak, in the past.
Kubiak worked directly with Cousins in 2019 and 2020 as Minnesota's quarterbacks coach, and then in 2021, he called the plays into the veteran signal-caller's helmet as the Vikings' offensive coordinator.
New Raiders' offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko was also Minnesota's quarterbacks coach in 2021 when Cousins was on the team, and Las Vegas's new offensive line coach, Rick Dennison, was part of the Vikings' offensive coaching staff from 2019 to 2021.
While the connection to the Raiders' coaching staff is much stronger, new Steelers offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio was with Cousins in Minnesota in 2022 and 2023 as the Vikings' passing game coordinator and tight ends coach.
However, it's safe to assume new Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy will be the one calling the plays next season, and he is someone who has never worked with Cousins in the past.
So if the 37-year-old quarterback has his heart set on remaining a starter in the NFL next season, he doesn't have a ton of options. At this point, it really just depends on how long Cousins is willing to wait for Rodgers to finally make a decision on his future, because we all know it could be quite a while before that happens.