Bleacher Report's Moe Moton recently listed Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback Kirk Cousins as one of the more likely players in the league to be traded this offseason.
"Atlanta will move forward with second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., so Cousins, who has been a full-time starter since 2015, probably wants an opportunity to lead an offense elsewhere," Moton wrote.
Could that opportunity come with the division rival New Orleans Saints?
Let's dive into it.
The Saints need a new quarterback, especially if Derek Carr is going to miss the entire 2025 season with a shoulder injury. A lot of experts are linking the Saints to Shedeur Sanders at pick No. 9 in the NFL Draft. But if Sanders lands with a different team, the Saints need to add a signal caller. Even if the Saints land Sanders, they could use a one-year bridge quarterback to keep the team afloat until Sanders is ready.
The obvious complication with this trade is the fact that the Saints and Falcons are bitter rivals. Atlanta would likely want to avoid trading a player to its rival when that player could come back and beat the Falcons twice next season.
But getting rid of Cousins and his contract would be a net-positive for the Falcons. Pair this with the draft capital that would return in the trade and the Falcons could consider it.
But the Saints likely wouldn't want to spend the money to bring in a guy like Cousins. New Orleans needs a signal caller next season, but Cousins is very expensive and proved last season that he might not be very capable of winning games anymore.
This is an interesting idea to look into, but the likelihood that the Saints trade for Cousins is quite low.
NFL Writer Claims Saints' $150 Million Star 'On Thin Ice'
The New Orleans Saints recently received the crushing news that star quarterback Derek Carr could miss the entire 2025 season with a shoulder injury. This puts the Saints in a tough position for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Should they reach and draft a quarterback, or should they go into the 2025 season with Spencer Rattler as the starter? Either way, Carr could be on the hot seat this season.
Heading into the season, NFL Spinzone's Lou Scataglia noted that he believes Carr is "on thin ice" for the Saints.
"All of a sudden, Derek Carr has a shoulder injury, and his status for the 2025 NFL Season seems to be up in the air," Scataglia wrote. "The New Orleans Saints seriously should not have signed Carr to begin with, and now they seem to be dealing with the fallout from that huge mistake.
"The Saints pick ninth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, which could be the perfect slot to take Shedeur Sanders, if they are high enough on him. And overall, Carr is simply not all that good and isn't going to lead the Saints to where they and where other NFL teams want to go. He's beginning to age well into his 30s and is an average-at-best QB. Derek Carr has to be on thin ice approaching the NFL Draft."
This is far from a hot take from Scataglia. It's hard to imagine Carr will be with the Saints beyond this season. If New Orleans doesn't find a starting quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, it will almost certainly find one in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Either way, it's unlikely the Saints want to move forward with Carr on the roster beyond this season.