In hypothetical trades, the question of “who says no?” is often posed. In this case, the answer better be the New Orleans Saints.
The concept of the Saints acquiring Kirk Cousins from the Atlanta Falcons has been pushed lately. The idea of it alone would be questionable, but this particular trade from Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski shouldn’t even be considered if offered.
Sobleski laid out a three-way trade between the Saints, Falcons and Buffalo Bills, headlined by Cousins landing in New Orleans, but the Saints walk away with the worst part of the swap. It's difficult to see where the Saints win at all.
Falcons and Bills would love for the Saints to take this Kirk Cousins trade
New Orleans Saints receive: QB Kirk Cousins
Atlanta Falcons receive: TE Dawson Knox
Buffalo Bills receive: S Tyrann Mathieu
The last part of the deal is where things truly go awry. The Saints have to give away one of their better defenders, Tyrann Mathieu, in order to get Cousins on the roster. It was one thing when the compensation was a backup quarterback and late round picks. Mathieu is a player who can make a difference
You may argue the Saints receiving a quarterback is the biggest deal in the trade, so they should have to give up a lot in return. Valid point, however, Sobleski wrote the Falcons should be comfortable trading Cousins to the Saints because it "probably isn't going to elevate the New Orleans Saints enough to threaten them in the division this year."
You're giving up one of your top defenders for a quarterback who probably won't help you win a struggling NFC South? Then you have to take on Cousins' contract. That's Atlanta's biggest win in the trade. Dawson Knox isn't going to make Falcons fans jump for joy, but that's the secondary benefit of the trade.
Sobleski even leaves the door open to Cousins being a backup in New Orleans. Trading Mathieu and taking on a big contract for someone who even has the chance of being a backup would be criminal. If this happened, the Saints would walk away as losers in this trade until Cousins proved otherwise.
