It was learned this past weekend that the Los Angeles Rams had given the agent for Matthew Stafford permission to speak with other teams about the veteran quarterback’s value.
Even before that, individuals such as NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested that the Rams could trade Stafford to a different club and later sign Aaron Rodgers to a team-friendly contract after he and the New York Jets officially complete their upcoming divorce.
However, The Athletic’s Chris Branch predicted in a piece published Monday morning that the Rams will replace Stafford with Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons instead of Rodgers.
“The Rams use the return of the Stafford trade to draft a QB, but also sign Cousins as a stopgap, relying on this coaching staff’s ability to maximize talent,” Branch wrote.
As recently as Monday morning, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that the Falcons will almost certainly release Cousins next month, as he has a no-trade clause attached to his contract and no real reason to do his current employer a solid after he lost the Atlanta starting job to 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. in December. Interestingly, Breer also named the Rams as a potential landing spot for Cousins.
Multiple Cleveland Browns reporters have linked Cousins with the AFC North team since December, largely because he had Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator when they were with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 and 2019.
However, John Keim mentioned for ESPN back in 2017 how current Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay helped Cousins become a franchise quarterback when McVay was Cousins’ offensive coordinator with the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders.
Similar to Rodgers, Cousins spent last offseason recovering from a torn Achilles and was then banged up during the 2024 campaign. Specifically, Cousins played through ankle, shoulder and elbow issues from at least Week 10 of the season up until he was relegated to backup duties after Week 15.
With that said, it seems some within the Falcons believe Cousins could have a bounce-back campaign with a different organization, in part because he should regain arm strength before he has to start throwing passes in meaningful games this coming September.
Whether or not Cousins would be a better option for the Rams than Rodgers is a matter of opinion. However, few would deny that Cousins has less baggage attached to him than Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer who routinely generated unwanted headlines during his Jets tenure via his “The Pat McAfee Show” appearances and who skipped the club’s two-day mandatory minicamp last spring because of a pre-planned trip to Egypt.
Perhaps McVay and Co. would simply prefer to work with Cousins over Rodgers if the Rams and Stafford fail to come to terms on a contract resolution for the 2025 season.
