While it previously seemed to be a matter of when and not if the Cleveland Browns would eventually either trade for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins or sign him shortly after his release, recent reports have indicated a Browns-Cousins marriage is now either unlikely or off the table.
During a Thursday appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, Falcons reporter D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explained how being stuck with the contract attached to Deshaun Watson impacts the Browns’ quarterback moves this offseason.
“Cleveland doesn’t have $40M, more dead money to put in on a quarterback when they have Deshaun sitting there,” Ledbetter said, Sports Illustrated’s Dan Lyons shared. “They can’t really trade for [Cousins]. If the Falcons cut him loose, which is what he’s asking for, then you can sign him for the minimum…and go from there. That was the hope of the Browns at one point. As far as giving the Falcons something for him, I think that’s a non-starter.”
On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Josh Kendall noted that the Falcons have not yet permitted Cousins to talk to other teams about a potential trade even though 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. is now Atlanta’s QB1. With that said, Ledbetter insisted that “the Browns wouldn’t give” the Falcons even a single draft pick in return for the 36-year-old who signed a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed in March 2024.
It’s also believed Cousins “wasn’t interested” in joining the Browns earlier in the offseason, perhaps because it’s thought Cleveland will use a high-value draft pick to grab a quarterback later this month. Even if the Browns don’t spend the draft’s second overall choice on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, they could take Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart or Louisville’s Tyler Shough later.
“It’s messy,” Ledbetter added about the Falcons-Cousins issue. “It’s a bad situation. The only clean break is if they just punt and kick him to the curb, and then he’d be available to Cleveland and everybody else for a minimum salary.”
There’s no indication such a divorce will occur before the draft begins. Meanwhile, the Browns could use the player-selection process to pivot away from Cousins for good.
