Report: Steelers Won’t Target Kirk Cousins in Free Agency

The Pittsburgh Steelers may pursue a veteran backup quarterback, but they will not try and land a starting quarterback to unseat Kenny Pickett. And that includes Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who according to a report by the Athletic, is not on the Steelers radar.

That comes in the same article that says the team is not interested in Russell Wilson and are not actively looking to trade for Justin Fields.

Cousins is in line for a new, potentially huge contract. But the 35-year-old is not a spring chicken anymore and while he is coming off a fantastic season while he was healthy, there are still questions about his return. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the teams that could pounce on him if he reaches free agency.

But head coach Kevin O’Connell will try everything not to make that happen. The Vikings believe that Cousins wants to stay in Minnesota and that it is something that ends up getting done.

“This is not Kirk’s first time in free agency. Kirk Cousins knows how I feel about him. I’ve held no secrets there. He knows how the Minnesota Vikings feel about him. I believe Kirk wants to be a Viking, and we’re going to work to try to make that the outcome,” O’Connell said. “You know, honestly, I feel like we’re heading toward a good place with Kirk, but like we’ve seen, free agency and the uncertainties for this time of year, you’ve got to be ready in a leadership role to have contingency plans and adjust on the fly.”

According to Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press, Cousins wants $90 million guaranteed in a two-year contract.

“Buzz now is that it will take $90 million guaranteed for two years, despite that he’s still not yet fully recovered from Achilles surgery in November, to sign [Cousins],” Walters wrote.

The Steelers will likely be making at least one addition to their quarterback room to pair with former first-round pick and re-minted QB1 Kenny Pickett, but Cousins doesn’t seem like an obvious fit. Head coach Mike Tomlin said that he believes his 2024 starting quarterback is on his roster, which would not be the case if the Steelers were willing to shell out the money to make a Cousins deal happen.