If the Washington Commanders truly think they could still make the playoffs — they might be the only ones left who do — then there’s a possibility they might have to rent a starting quarterback facsimile for the rest of the season.
That might have to come in the form of a familiar face, with Heavy’s Max Dible proposing the Commanders could make a deal with the Atlanta Falcons for their current backup quarterback and former Washington starter Kirk Cousins.
That’s also assuming what we all saw happen to the Commanders in a 38-14 blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks — a grotesque left arm injury to star quarterback Jayden Daniels — was a season ending injury.
Dible thinks the Commanders might be able to Cousins in exchange for cap relief and taking on some burden of the 4-year, $180 million free agent contract he signed with the Falcons before the 2024 season.
Dible also thinks the Commanders, even if they do get Cousins, would continue to stick with current backup Marcus Mariota as the starting quarterback despite his struggles doing … almost anything related to competent quarterback play.
“Washington isn’t trading for a starting QB, if they do a deal at all, and Cousins comes with the second half of a $27.5 million base salary to consider,” Dible said. “So Atlanta isn’t going to get a high pick in return if they move on from him. But a mid- to late-Day 3 selection and the assumption of perhaps $5-$7 million of Cousin’s remaining money owed feels close to a bargain at this point. Daniels is out, possibly for the year, and the Commanders, who will feasibly continue to play to win after an NFC title appearance last year despite a 3-6 start need a QB behind Mariota.”
Falcons One of NFL’s Worst Run Teams
The Falcons have taken the last few years to show how to truly run a promising franchise and fan base into the ground.
Plenty of that is centered around Cousins, who they overpaid for in free agency in 2024 when he was coming off a torn achilles tendon, then proceeded to draft a quarterback in the first round one month later with Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall.
The Falcons made the decision to bench Cousins at the end of last year for Penix, which has seemed to do little to help him become a decent starting quarterback. Penix is 3-4 as the starter this season and 4-6 overall as the starter over the last 2 seasons.
Cousins has started one game this season, going 21 of 31 passing for 173 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 when Penix was injured.
Cousins, who will have $321.6 million in career earnings after this season, was a fourth round pick (No. 102 overall) by the Commanders in the 2012 NFL draft and was the team’s full time starter for 3 seasons from 2015 to 2017.
Cousins led the Commanders to the playoffs in his first year as a starter in 2015 and made the first of 3 career Pro Bowls in 2016 before he signed a 3-year, $84 million free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.
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