June is officially here, which means the New Orleans Saints could have new quarterback options reach the open market. Thanks to the NFL contract language, teams can now release high-priced players and split the dead money on their contract over two seasons to lower their overall salary cap hit. One of the most likely candidates for release is quarterback Kirk Cousins.
After signing a massive four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, the team took quarterback Michael Penix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. While Cousins entered the season as the starter, he couldn’t keep the job for the entire season and enters 2025 as a backup. While he was too expensive to cut or trade before June 1st, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports believes the team will part ways with the veteran in the coming days. In a recent article, the NFL analyst projected the Saints to sign Kirk Cousins after the Falcons release him.
CBS Projects Saints to Sign Falcons Quarterback Kirk Cousins
It’s important to note that the Saints would not pick up the quarterback’s contract in this project. While the Falcons will try to trade him, it’s hard to envision anyone taking on the astronomical contract. Instead, the Falcons will likely eat their losses and release Cousins, leaving him free to sign a cheap one-year deal with any team, similar to what happened with Russell Wilson last year.
Assuming he costs next to nothing, it’s easy to see why the Saints would want to add a quarterback like Kirk Cousins into the mix. Following Derek Carr’s retirement, New Orleans currently has untested rookie Tyler Shough battling Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener for the starting job. Cousins is not a long-term answer to the position, but he could be a short-term fix while the three quarterbacks with seven combined starts adjust to life in the NFL.
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