It's somehow already June and we're still talking about who the Steelers' starting quarterback will be. And, honestly, it's even worse than that: we're still talking about who the Steelers' starting quarterback could be. June! It's JUNE.
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And for the last few months, it's felt like no matter how hard Steelers fans dreaded it, or ran from it, Aaron Rodgers was still going to arrive. There have been too many wink-wink-nudge-nudge reports about how the Steelers and Rodgers have a wink-wink-nudge-nudge agreement that says all he needs to do is show up in late July for anyone to believe otherwise.
But not all hope for a normal, mediocre season is not lost! ESPN is here to tell us that, against all odds, there is another path to eight wins: Kirk Cousins. In their latest piece on three major names and the teams they could end up on, the worldwide leader dips their toes into a Steelers-Falcons trade that could land Pittsburgh their QB1 while also being the absolute funniest outcome possible for Rodgers. In that sense, it's actually not all that bad?
Kirk Cousins would be a much lighter headache for the Steelers than, uh, other QB options
Falcons get: 2026 sixth-round draft pick (can become a fifth-rounder with performance conditions)
Steelers get: Cousins, cash considerations
"The Steelers' quarterback room is about as thin as one could get ahead of training camp. And if signing Aaron Rodgers falls through, the Steelers must trade for a veteran who can start. Mason Rudolph is currently No. 1 on the depth chart. Cousins is a good fit for coordinator Arthur Smith's offense, which doesn't need its quarterback to move much out of the pocket. This late of a draft pick is close to Cousins' value, and I'd imagine the Falcons are still willing to swallow $20 million -- maybe even more -- of his salary to get this deal done."
Look, again: it's not Aaron Rodgers. And what I mean by that is that it's not the Aaron Rodgers show. Do Steelers fans really want to spend all year aggregating the Pat McAfee show? There's no light at the end of that tunnel. If Mike Tomlin is truly convinced that a one-year bridge QB is the way to go this year, Cousins is objectively far less of a headache. And when you're in the market for one-year gap QBs, that's about all you can ask for.