Kirk Cousins was blindsided when the Atlanta Falcons used a first-round draft pick on a quarterback less than two months after signing the veteran, and he is going to do everything he can to make sure that does not happen with his next team.
The Falcons are still hoping they will be able to trade Cousins this offseason despite owing him the remainder of the $100 million guaranteed on his contract. Atlanta kept Cousins on the roster earlier this month and paid him a hefty bonus rather than releasing him. While the Falcons could keep Cousins as a backup, the 36-year-old wants an opportunity to start elsewhere.
Cousins also has some control over his future, as he has a full no-trade clause in his contract. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote on Monday that Cousins plans to use his power to block any potential deal before the first day of the NFL Draft.
By not accepting a trade before the draft, Cousins can be sure that his next team does not draft his potential replacement in the first round, like Atlanta did when they traded up to No. 8 overall for Michael Penix Jr.
“Rather than taking anyone’s word for it, Cousins has already signaled to teams that he would likely want to wait to see what happens over draft weekend before accepting a trade,” Breer wrote. “In a way, that should also work for the teams, allowing them to go through a full draft process — and make decisions on guys such as Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart independent of Cousins’s destination.”
That strategy would be a risky one for Cousins. There are not many teams that would be willing to guarantee him a starting job. It is also unclear how much money the Falcons would eat in a potential Cousins trade, or what Atlanta would ask for in return.
If a team wanted an answer about Cousins prior to the draft, that team could make the former Pro Bowl quarterback a “take it or leave it” offer. Just as Cousins might not want to join a team that then drafts a quarterback early, a QB-needy team might not want to wait until after the draft to acquire a veteran.
We know of at least one team with a high first-round draft pick that might have interest in Cousins. It will be interesting to see if Cousins plays hardball should one or more teams inquire about him.
