Steelers would have to clear several hurdles to sign QB Kirk Cousins this offseason

Cousins is set to be a free agent in the 2024 season.

News broke last week that soon-to-be free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins “could” be interested in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reportedly, Cousins is “keeping an eye” on Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation this offseason, but how likely is it that the two will link this offseason?

There is a need at quarterback for the Steelers; that’s undeniable as we sit here today. However, some significant hurdles would have to be cleared to make this happen. Let’s talk about what those are, and then we’ll see if it’s an addition the team could make.

Hurdles to signing Kirk Cousins

Finding the money to sign Cousins

It was reported that Kirk Cousins could be seeking a two-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $90 million in free agency. If that figure is indeed accurate, or even close, the Steelers cannot take on that contract as they sit right now, projected to be just about $6 million over the cap for the 2024 NFL season.

To make room for a contract of that nature would orchestrating full restructures on the contracts for T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Alex Highsmith. That would give Watt & Fitzpatrick enormous cap hits in 2025. They’d have to release veterans Patrick Peterson, Damontae Kazee and Larry Ogunjobi, while also likely offering Diontae Johnson an extension to limit his cap number for the 2024 season.

It would be a significant short-term financial commitment, making the 2024 season all in for the Pittsburgh Steelers — Super Bowl or bust for the entire organization. Compounding the issue, current presumed starter Kenny Pickett would likely request a trade, moving him would leave dead money behind and without much coming back in the way of trade compensation for him.

The Steelers surely wouldn’t be the only team competing for Cousins’ services, either, which means they could find themselves in a free-agent bidding war with the likes of the Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots — all of whom have exponentially more cap space than the Steelers in 2024 and 2025 seasons. The Commanders and Patriots, in particular, rank first and second in available cap space with $73,649,626 and $69,527,006 for the 2024 season. The Steelers cannot win a bidding war against these two.

Honestly, should they call Cousins? Yes, but it would likely be a very short exploratory call.

Cousins returning from injury

Cousins suffered an Achilles tear on October 30, 2023, it may take 12 months for him to return from the injury. He could be out until around week eight or week nine in 2024. The Steelers would need to get a capable backup quarterback to hold down the fort till then. The NFL backup quarterback market has gone up in recent years. The Steelers wouldn’t be able to address the holes along the offensive line. Would they want a quarterback coming off a significant injury playing behind the current offensive line?

Installing Arthur Smith’s offense

New Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith is installing a new scheme, which means there will be bumps in the road in 2024 — even for an experienced quarterback like Cousins. Very likely, he will be starting the season on the PUP list, which further complicates yes he can get mental reps, but thinking and doing are two different things.

Age

Cousins is 35 years old and will be turning 36 before the start of the season. That means the Steelers could quickly find themselves right back where they were towards the end of Ben Roethlisberger’s career, sitting with a declining quarterback at a large-cap figure and no real in-house options to transition toward.

Chemistry

Cousins would be coming to a brand-new team, who don’t have receivers that have worked with him before. It takes time to build chemistry, that would need to happen very quickly and that isn’t always that easy — especially if he does miss time and reps returning from his injury.

Are the Steelers ready to win?

Are the Steelers truly ready to make an all-in bet? The answer to that question is likely not. We’re just all hoping to win a playoff game and start there from there. Only the Steelers’ brain trust can truly answer these questions. At the forefront of their minds, too, will likely be the situation that just played out with the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers (who also suffered an Achilles injury).

Yes, anyone can get injured, but it only took that one injury, and their season was completely over. That doesn’t mean you don’t try to improve and upgrade. But, they were so all in on Rodgers that they were caught completely off guard when it fell through.

If the Steelers could find a way to manipulate enough cap space to sign Kirk Cousins, would you be in favor? What would you project the Steelers’ 2024 end-of-season record to be with Cousins under center? Join our community at Behind The Steel Curtain and let us know in the comments!