When the Falcons threw $180 million at Kirk Cousins, it felt like he was gonna walk in and save the franchise. A hundred mil guaranteed. Fans were hyped. The front office was chest-puffing. Then came the picks—16 of them in 14 games and a 7–7 record. Not exactly elite. And by the time the regular season was on the brink of an end, Michael Penix Jr. took over the reins, and Cousins became the most-expensive backup QB.

Now, the Falcons are stuck. His 2025 cap hit? $40 million. That’s 14% of the Falcons’ salary cap. And if they cut him early (say, before June 1st), it’s a record-breaking $65 million dead hit. Yup, that’s the largest in NFL history, while a post-June 1 release would still carry a $40 million dead cap charge. The Falcons’ GM Terry Fontenot basically locked himself in a luxurious suit with no exit.

That said, Atlanta had no option but to trade their most expensive backup QB, given they’re going ahead with Penix Jr. as their QB1. But are they trading him? Well, the franchise has received a bunch of calls asking if Cousins is available or not. But looks like the GM is in no mood to make this decision. Not just yet. In fact, they’re being patient.

Fontenot joined Adam Schein on Tuesday on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio, where he addressed Cousins’ trade situation. “We just have to be patient there,” Fontenot said. “We’re always open — not just talking about Kirk, but with really anybody on our roster — we have a lot of those calls. I’ve probably talked to already six or seven GMs since the draft has ended, and they’re talking about their roster, we’re talking about our roster. Because after you get through the draft, that shifts some things in terms of needs and surplus and all that.” Translation?

The Falcons are currently chilling’ right now and are open to dealing with any team if the right call comes up. Aren’t they doing this for months now? Because let’s clarify one thing: Atlanta isn’t going to trade Kirk Cousins for nothing. The team has demanded $20 million in salary relief if any team wants to trade for the veteran QB. And if six or seven GMs have already reached out to Fontenot, then let’s just say… the front office is trying to pin down the best offer.

“So, we’re always patient with those types of things because if something comes to us with Kirk or any other player that makes sense and it’s gonna help this team, then we’re gonna be aggressive and we’re going to do it,” the GM continued. “And if it’s not something that’s gonna ultimately help this team, we always have to ask that question: Is it the best for the Atlanta Falcons, for this organization? And if it is, we’re gonna be willing to do it, but all that communication is always ongoing.” See, trading Cousins certainly makes sense for Atlanta.

However, the GM said that they’re being patient if something comes up for Kirk Cousins. Now, let’s be honest—the Falcons are kind of running out of options. Cleveland was an option, considering Deshaun Watson’s uncertainty. But their QB room is now stacked after drafting Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. On the other side of the spectrum, Minnesota has already made it clear that they want to go ahead with JJ McCarthy.

All in all, the Falcons have reportedly received six of seven calls, but for the time being, the Steelers are the only team that seems suitable to trade for Cousins. But let’s not sugarcoat this—Pittsburgh is still in pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. Good for Pittsburgh, but for Atlanta? I guess not.

After all this time, is Aaron Rodgers still an option for the Steelers?

The calendar has flipped to the fifth month of the year, but the Steelers are still stuck where they were a few months ago—literally. The quarterback conundrum. Of course, they have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, and now a rookie, Will Howard. But is any of ’em going to take the QB role? We can’t say right now. Because every day, things are getting pretty messy in their QB room.

The Steelers had a chance to pick Shedeur Sanders, who could be a decent option to lead the offense. But nope—if Gerry Dulac’s report checks out, the Steelers weren’t just lukewarm on Sanders—they straight-up had zero interest in drafting a long-term QB at all. The reason, you ask? It’s because they still believe that Aaron Rodgers will sign a deal with them.

Amidst the 2025 NFL draft, President and owner Art Rooney II hopped on Steelers Nation Radio and reiterated his feelings on Aaron Rodgers’ situation. “We’re still kind of getting the same signals that we’ve been getting recently,” Rooney said. “He does want to come here, so I do think we may get word soon.” And get this: he isn’t talking the talk.

Because Rooney made it clear (and we’re talking even before they drafted a QB) that even if they would have picked a quarterback in the draft, he wasn’t going to be their starter. “If we draft a quarterback — and we still might — it’s probably not someone who’s going to start for us this year,” Rooney explained. “It’s going to be somebody that will be developing and may play down the road. It’s not like somebody that’s going to have a big impact on this season if we draft a quarterback.” Developing behind whom?

Rodgers? Kirk Cousins? Because Rodgers isn’t responding. Cousins is waiting for Atlanta to find him a team. That means just one thing: it’s not even in their hands to decide if they’re going to find a veteran QB to start in 2025. Diabolical. At the end of the day, the Steelers are still stuck in their QB limbo. Even though the NFL draft has already wrapped up. Plain and simple.