The outlook for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason has seemed to change in a pretty big way since the NFL season came to an end on Sunday.
Over the few weeks since the Steelers were eliminate from the playoffs, it had begun to seem like the team really was set on heading into the 2024 season with Kenny Pickett as their QB1, but the may not be the case anymore.
They recently became the betting favorite to land Bears QB Justin Fields.
Now it seems there is another high-profile quarterback that is becoming a more realistic option for the team.
During an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed that the Kirk Cousins camp is keeping an eye on the Steelers.
“I don’t know if the Steelers would dig deep enough to pay a guy like Kirk Cousins, but I was talking to some people last week who seemed to be intrigued by the possibility of the Steelers making a play for Kirk Cousins! And those people were very close to, if not within, the Kirk Cousins camp. It’s an acknowledgment that it could happen. The [Atlanta] Falcons and the Steelers are the two teams that I think the Cousins camp is keeping an eye on.”
A Consistently Good QB
Since the moment he became an NFL starter, Cousins has been proving that he’s a good quarterback.
In his first full season as a starter, Cousins threw for more than 4000 yards while leading the league in completion percentage.
He followed that up with 4917 yards in his second season as a starter.
Since joining the Vikings, he has remained consistent.
He went over 3500 yards in each of his first five seasons, topping 4000 in four. He also averaged a little oer 30 passing touchdowns per season in those five years.
During the 2023 season, he was on his way to his best season in Minnesota. In just 8 games, he threw 2331 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 69.5% of his passes.
His 17-game pace would have led the league in both yards and touchdowns.
That should make him the Steelers’ priority at QB if they want to make a move this offseason.
Steelers’ Best-Case Scenario
Cousins’ price and recovery from his achilles injury are both a bit concerning, but he is still probably the best option the Steelers have available to them if they’re going to make a push to contend in 2024.
Cousins had simply been much better than Russell Wilson and Fields over the past couple of seasons before his injury.
Also, unlike Fields, the Steelers wouldn’t have to give anything up to get him.
Quarterback isn’t the only position they need to address this offseason. Holding on to all of their draft capital would give them the opportunity to try and address their other needs with young talent on cheap contracts.
Cousins wouldn’t come cheaply. He made $35 million last season and won’t be lowering his demands in 2024.
That shouldn’t be a big issue for the Steelers though as it seems unlikely they’re going to take a big swing at another position during the offseason.
Not only is Cousins their best option for 2024, but signing him would also give Pickett a chance to spend a year or two developing on the bench without the Steelers having to just entirely move on from him.
If the Steelers decide they want to do something big at quarterback, during the 2024 offseason Cousins is the best move they can make.
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