The Pittsburgh Steelers have quite the conundrum at quarterback right now, but former NFL defensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Marcus Spears sees a potential solution: Kirk Cousins.
Cousins is set to be a free agent this offseason, and with the Steelers needing to address their situation under center, Spears thinks Cousins would be a great fit.
He even goes as far to say that Cousins would make Pittsburgh a contender.
“You damn right they are. You are absolutely right, they are [a Super Bowl contender with Cousins],” Spears said on ESPN’s Get Up. “An explosive offense with Mike Tomlin is a Super Bowl contender. I guarantee it.”
The Steelers employed Kenny Pickett at quarterback for most of 2023, but he ended up going down with an ankle injury that required surgery in Week 13. He was supposed to return at the end of the season, but ended up getting supplanted by Mason Rudolph as the starter.
Pittsburgh does not seem married to the idea of either Pickett or Rudolph in 2024, and Rudolph will be a free agent this spring, anyway.
Cousins, who has spent his last six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, will be one of the most interesting free agents to monitor come March.
When healthy, there is no doubt that Cousins is a very good signal-caller, but he tore his Achilles eight games into the season this past year. Couple that with his age (he is 35 years old), and you can see why some teams would have some trepidation about paying him big money.
However, Spears has a point: a quarterback-needy team like the Steelers that is not too far away from being a truly dangerous ballclub could take a stab at Cousins.
Prior to getting hurt, Kirk Cousins was playing fantastic football in 2023, having thrown for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 69.5 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 103.8.
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