Steelers are mentioned as a “Possible Trade Partner” for a franchise quarterback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are working to develop starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, but they have been mentioned as a “possible trade partner” for seasoned quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 10-7 with Kenny Pickett at quarterback in his second season.
Even so, there are persistent rumors that Pittsburgh might be looking to replace Smith with a better quarterback.
Both Dianna Russini of The Athletic and Jarrett Bailey of Touchdown Wire mentioned the Steelers as a potential suitor for veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
Although the Vikings have a 1-4 record, the 35-year-old quarterback leads the NFL with 13 passing touchdowns.
In March, he will also be a free agent.
A potential Cousins trade, however, has numerous moving parts.
This makes the 35-year-old’s potential acquisition by the Steelers difficult.
Is the Steelers’ acquisition of Kirk Cousins a logical move?
Russini suggested the Steelers as a possible destination for Cousins, but she came to the conclusion that a deal like that is not likely to happen. Russini gave a few explanations as to why.
Finding a team willing to part with valuable draft picks and pay Cousins’ salary would be the other major challenge in a trade, according to Russini.
Teams like the Jets, Steelers, Browns, and Falcons would seem to be potential trade partners, but I don’t get the impression that any of these organizations are looking to make this kind of a transfer.
“Team sources informed me that Minnesota has no plans to trade him, too.
The Vikings are always going to take a call, but I’ve talked with league sources a lot about their reluctance to deal their starter and the possibility that they might decide to keep Cousins after this year.
“.
The quarterback’s no-trade clause would also need to be lifted in order for the Vikings to trade Cousins. Russini stated that Cousins “has a family in Minnesota with two young boys attending school.”.
On-the-spot switching teams would force Cousins to either uproot his family or live separately from them for the remainder of the season.
Kenny Pickett has been a disappointment for the Steelers.
Bailey listed numerous potential destinations for Cousins should he be traded, much like Russini did.
Bailey’s top five list of potential teams included the Steelers.
It’s unlikely that the renownedly patient organization will let Kenny Pickett go this soon, according to Bailey.
They would gain from letting Cousins take the place of Pickett, without a doubt.
“.
However, the advantage would only last for a short time.
Once more, Cousins will be a free agent in March, so the Steelers would need to re-sign him if they wanted to keep the seasoned quarterback for longer than six weeks.
In March 2022, Cousins signed a one-year, $35 million contract extension with the Vikings.
Even if the Steelers were to sign Cousins, he wouldn’t start the 2024 season until he turns 36.
He is a temporary fix, not what the Steelers are looking for in a center.
Yes, with Cousins this season, the Steelers could become the AFC North favorites, but Pittsburgh has a young offensive roster.
Instead of having a quarterback retire once all the pieces are in place for an elite offense, the team wants Pickett to develop alongside its young playmakers on offense.
As a starting NFL quarterback, Cousins has a record of 73-67-2.
For 1,498 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions this season, he has completed 67.2% of his passes.
He is averaging 7.3 yards per attempt.
With 1,027 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions this season, Pickett has a 59.7% completion rate.
He is averaging 6.5 yards per try.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions are the subjects of Dave Holcomb’s sports reporting for Heavy.com.
Holcomb, a native of Pittsburgh, has covered college and pro sports for publications like Fansided, Rotowire, and Yardbarker.
More info on Dave Holcomb.
