Another offseason of quarterback roulette is on the way for the New York Jets.
The next name up for consideration is Atlanta Falcons passer Kirk Cousins. ESPN’s Rich Cimini called him a “name to watch.”
Cousins, 37, has two years remaining on his $180 million contract. This offseason, the Falcons do have an out in his contract, but they would still have to eat a $35 million dead cap hit if they chose to cut him.
Justin Fields was benched as the starting quarterback by the Jets this week. Cimini described the team being in “quarterback hell,” and they’re inevitably headed for a “total rebuild” at the QB position.
Cousins Has Legitimate Credentials
By the start of the 2026 season, Cousins will be 38 years of age.
He has been named to four Pro Bowls and led the NFL in completion percentage in 2015. For the majority of his career, Cousins has posted video game numbers.
He has appeared in 167 games and has started in 160 of those. With those opportunities, Cousins has completed 66.9% of his passes, has thrown for 43,229 passing yards, and owns a 288 touchdown to 126 interception ratio.
Jets Will Get Their Chance to See Cousins in Person
The former Michigan State product’s overall numbers are impressive, but this is a what can you do for me now league. The Jets aren’t looking to hand out a lifetime achievement award; they’re trying to find a solution for 2026.
This season for the Dirty Birds, Cousins has appeared in three games and has made one start. Cousins has completed 61.5% of his passes, has thrown for 250 passing yards, and has yet to throw a touchdown or an interception.
Moving forward, Cousins is going to receive a lot more playing time. The Falcons placed starter Michael Penix Jr on injured reserve, and he will be out for the rest of the season.
Atlanta has seven games remaining in their 2025 regular season. That includes a road trip to New York to play the Jets on Sunday, November 30.
The Jets brass will have a chance to see Cousins up close and personal.
Some Extracurricular Activities Could Complicate a Cousins-Jets Pairing
The pairing makes sense on paper. Gang Green doesn’t have a quarterback for 2026. Cousins wants to play. He can’t do that in Atlanta with Penix on the team.
However, as ESPN’s Rich Cimini noted, “In 2018, the Jets made an unsuccessful free agent bid for Cousins, which might have chafed some feelings in the organization.”
It gets worse. Cousins gave full access to a documentary crew to follow him around during that 2018 offseason so folks could get an understanding of the free agency process.
Cousins revealed that the Jets offered him a three-year $90 million contract fully guaranteed in free agency. They used that as leverage to get more money out of the Minnesota Vikings, the team Cousins wanted to end up with.
“It’s done as long as I go to Minneapolis,” Cousins said on the documentary.
The Jets being used and embarrassed publicly in that way could prevent a pairing during the 2026 offseason.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets Linked to $180 Million 4-Time Pro Bowl QB as Justin Fields Replacement appeared first on Heavy Sports.