The New Orleans Saints will have a decision to make when it comes to who starts at quarterback for them in Week 1 when the Arizona Cardinals come to town. The choices right now are between rookie second-rounder Tyler Shough, last year's fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler, and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener.
What if the Saints decided to throw another name into the mix? According to Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports, a quarterback he could see ending up with the Saints is Kirk Cousins, who is currently a member of division rival Atlanta. Benjamin listed the Saints and Steelers as potential landing spots for Cousins but predicted that the Falcons would cut Cousins and he'd then go on to sign with New Orleans.
"Cousins was a no-show for the start of the Atlanta Falcons' voluntary OTAs; it's just the latest indication the quarterback prefers a fresh start after his late-year benching in 2024, the same year he signed a $180 million contract to lead the franchise. The Falcons have so far been unwilling to eat much of Cousins' inflated contract to facilitate a trade, and few teams still have glaring quarterback needs, but Atlanta will have more reason to grant Cousins his freedom: They can save $27.5 million by trading Cousins after June 1, whereas a pre-June 1 deal would've only netted them $2.5 million in instant savings. Outright cutting the veteran would also result in a net loss of $10 million after June 1, whereas a pre-June 1 release would've cost them $35 million."
Saints fans won’t like who’s being floated as their next QB
While Cousins would undoubtedly be an improvement over the aforementioned names on the Saints' quarterback depth chart, this move really doesn't make any sense for New Orleans. Spending money on Cousins when this team doesn't look primed to compete for a playoff spot in 2025 feels like a silly potential move.
Kellen Moore clearly saw something in Shough's game that he liked enough to spend an early second-round pick on him. While that doesn't mean Shough should be handed the starting job if he doesn't earn it outright, it does mean that he's expected to take the reins at some point. Cousins would essentially be in the same exact position he was in a season ago. The Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. and after the veteran quarterback disappointed, Penix took over and never looked back.
Cousins also struggled during the back half of Atlanta's season, leading to his benching. The Saints might not have a great quarterback room but with nothing really on the line this year, spending money on someone like Cousins makes little sense. Let Shough and the other two battle it out for the starting job and see what happens. Maybe things go poorly but perhaps maybe -- just maybe -- Shough wins the job or works his way into the starting gig eventually and goes on to impress.
Cousins might be able to help a team in 2025 but it doesn't need to be the New Orleans Saints.