Kirk Cousins’ 3 biggest suitors if Aaron Rodgers returns to Steelers

If you feel like you have been here before, you are not alone. Winter gives way to spring, the NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the football world awaits a decision from Aaron Rodgers. With the 2026 NFL Draft just a few weeks away, the Pittsburgh Steelers are waiting on the veteran quarterback to decide if he wants to return to the sport, and be reunited with his former head coach, new Steelers man in charge Mike McCarthy.

However, fans are not the only ones waiting.

Another veteran quarterback is as well.

That would be Kirk Cousins, who was recently released by the Atlanta Falcons. Pittsburgh represents perhaps the last starting job available for a quarterback like Cousins, a veteran option who can be a bridge to the next franchise option.

But if the Steelers are off the table, what would that mean for Cousins?

Here are three potential options beyond Pittsburgh, ranked by likelihood.

Could Cousins return to the NFC North?

With Malik Willis taking his talents to South Beach, there is a spot for a backup quarterback behind Jordan Love on the Green Bay Packers. Behind Love, the Packers have Kyle McCord and Desmond Ridder, and the franchise does have a proven need for a backup option.

After all, Willis parlayed a short stint in place of an injured Love into a big contract with the Miami Dolphins, and Love has missed some time due to injury over the past two seasons.

There is also some familiarity here between Cousins and head coach Matt LaFleur. During Cousins’ time in Washington, LaFleur was a member of the notable offensive coaching staff that included Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, serving as the team’s quarterbacks coach. Cousins’ experience both in the league, and under LaFleur, would make him a strong candidate for the backup job in Green Bay.

The starting job in Las Vegas likely becomes Fernando Mendoza’s in the near future.

But just how near?

Mendoza’s stunning final season, which saw him lead the Indiana Hoosiers to their first national title while picking up Heisman Trophy honors, has him the odds-on favorite to be the first player selected at the end of April, but the Raiders. Yet, if the organization wants to give him a slow runway to taking over under center, adding a veteran quarterback as an option would be a wise investment.

In the wake of the Geno Smith trade, Aidan O’Connell is the only other quarterback on the roster.

Whether Cousins wants to keep a place warm for Mendoza is an open question, but if the Steelers are truly out of the picture then Las Vegas might represent the only true chance for him to be a starting quarterback come Week 1, absent an injury. And whether Cousins would want to be part of a rebuilding process at this point in his career is another open question.

But as far as veteran mentors for Mendoza go, he might be an ideal option.

Throughout this offseason, the idea of a successor to Matthew Stafford has been a matter discussed in mock drafts. Notably, when the Rams still had a pair of first-round selections, adding a top talent with the first and circling back to the position group with Ty Simpson with the second seemed like a potential approach.

But now that the Rams have traded away that second first-round pick, they might need to wait on the successor, and ensure they have a viable option behind Stafford for this season should the veteran get hurt.

Which is something that McVay himself discussed at the league meetings this week — while specifically mentioning Cousins as an option:

“Kirk and I experienced a lot of first things together,” said McVay on ESPN. “And so there was a real, foundational relationship. His success and really the success we were able to have as a team was instrumental in [me] getting an opportunity to get to L.A. So I’m forever indebted to him … Kirk was awesome and he’s played at a high level. He’s a starting quarterback in this league, it’s just a matter of what he’s looking for, what the situation is. If there is some interest in us, Kirk, come see us man! We’d love to have you.”

This was not his only pitch to Cousins in the media.

“We do need to be able to add another guy into that room,” added McVay on Monday during an appearance on PFT Live with Mike Florio and Chris Simms. “And that’s something that we’re looking at. Obviously, people make some of the connections with Kirk [Cousins], and if it doesn’t work out with Jimmy [Garoppolo, who is a free agent and spent the past two seasons with the Rams], that’s definitely something that– you know I have tremendous respect for [him] … know he’s got some other options and some other suitors, but Jimmy and Kirk are guys that I’d love to be able to have back with us.”

If Rodgers does indeed return to Pittsburgh for a reunion with McCarthy, another quarterback/coach reunion could be in the works in Los Angeles.