Browns could look at $27,500,000 Deshaun Watson solution amid uncertain future at QB position: Report

Kirk Cousins could be on the move again after a difficult first season behind centre for the Atlanta Falcons. According to Sports Illustrated, the veteran pivot may be headed to Cleveland, where the Browns are working around the fully guaranteed contract of Deshaun Watson.

Watson's contract is worth $92 million for his final two years. Cousins is due to make $27.5 million in 2025.

The Falcons have already spent $62.5 million on the former four-time Pro Bowler who led the league in completion percentage in 2015. In 14 games for Atlanta last season, Cousins threw for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns but also had a career-high 16 interceptions. Near the tail end of 2024, he was benched.

During the off-season, Cousins revealed that he was playing hurt at times in the previous regular season as he finished the year with a record of 7-7. Last March, he signed a four-year contract with Atlanta worth $180 million.

Michael Pennix Jr., who the club drafted in the first round last year at #8, became the starter down the stretch of 2024.

The man Cousins may be replacing in Cleveland, Deshaun Watson, went 1-6 for the Browns last season, averaging just 5.3 yards per throw, with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

If the Falcons decide to cut Cousins, the only way his new team would have to pay more than the minimum in 2025 is if someone decides the 36-year-old is worth $27.5 million.

Kirk Cousins has connections with the Browns

Financially speaking, signing Cousins could be a solution for the Browns, and it doesn’t hurt that he has a history with their current coach, Kevin Stefanski.

Stefanski spent years in Minnesota, previously serving as their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. In 2018, Cousins had a completion percentage of 70.1, the best of his career. In all of his years in Minnesota, his completion percentage never went below 65%.

In 2019, when Stefanski was the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, Cousins threw for 3,603 yards and 26 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also boasted a career-high 107.4 passer rating that year.

The Browns suffered a dreadful 2024 campaign, finishing with a record of 3-14, the worst for Stefanski as coach of the team. He had just signed an extension last March.

Cousins is tied with Matthew Stafford for the most game-winning drives in a single NFL season (eight), while he was the recipient of the Bart Starr Award in 2023.