ESPN’s Bill Barnwell Says Kirk Cousins Fits With Packers, But Does He?

After losing Malik Willis in free agency, the Green Bay Packers need to find a backup quarterback. Maybe. ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell, in a story about best team fits for the top remaining free agents, picked the Packers for Kirk Cousins.

With Jordan Love missing time each of the last two seasons, it’s imperative that the Packers have the right man for the job given the small margin of error between making the playoffs as the seventh seed or missing the postseason altogether.

“The Packers have to be conscious of their need to have a backup they trust if Love can’t go,” Barnwell concluded. “While LaFleur might try to find value with another prospect in the same way the Packers once did when they traded for Willis, Cousins would be a solid option as the backup behind Love in 2026.”

He would, but that ignores a critical part of the equation.

Cousins.

Kirk Cousins Remains Quality Quarterback

Cousins, who will turn 38 during training camp, remains a capable player. Last season, the Falcons went 8-9. They were 5-3 when Cousins started.

Moreover, in replacing injured Michael Penix down the stretch, Atlanta went 5-2 and ended the season with a four-game winning streak. His 373 passing yards and three touchdowns were responsible for keeping the Buccaneers out of the playoffs, and he helped lead an upset win over the Rams, as well.

Cousins, to be sure, is not the top-shelf starter he was for several seasons with the Vikings. His career changed forever when he suffered a torn Achilles while lighting up the Packers during a game at Lambeau Field in 2023.

“Kirk Cousins is playing outstanding football right now,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said before that game “He’s a guy that, you guys know, I go way back to him with him in his rookie year in Washington and he’s a guy that I’ve had the utmost respect for. I feel like he’s always been severely underrated. I think he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the game.”

For his career, he has completed 66.7 percent of his passes and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. Last season, he completed just 61.7 percent of his passes with 6.4 yards per attempt – the worst marks of his career in seasons with at least eight starts. In 2024, he led the NFL with 16 interceptions.

However, he threw 10 touchdowns and five interceptions last season – a solid ratio – and he was victimized by the sixth-highest drop percentage last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

So, Why Not Green Bay?

Good quarterbacks don’t intentionally sign contracts to be backup quarterbacks. Why would Cousins, in the middle of March, sign on with the Packers so he could be a backup for Love? It’s a ludicrous premise.

While Love missed time in 2024 with knee and groin injuries and 2025 with a concussion, the reality is he’s started all but three games due to health reasons in three seasons on the job. So, it’s not as if Cousins would be signing with the Packers to be the backup to the equivalent of Glass Joe from the old Punch-Out!! video game.

It’s far more likely that Cousins will sign with a team where he has a chance to start – the Steelers, perhaps? – or wait and see if any opportunities open elsewhere, whether it’s as a veteran pairing with a draft pick or waiting to see if a starter gets injured.

Maybe those opportunities won’t come into focus, but why close the door now?

Potential Packers QB Additions

So, who does that leave?

Potential Trade: Will Levis

In 2024, with Will Levis in place, the Titans traded failed starter Malik Willis to the Packers. In 2026, with Cam Ward in place, the Titans reportedly are shopping Levis, another failed starter.

So, perhaps history would repeat itself.

Levis was the first pick of the second round of the 2023 draft and didn’t play at all last season. Of 37 quarterbacks with at least 500 attempts the last three seasons, he is 33rd in passer rating, 35th in completion percentage and 22nd in yards per attempt.

Acquiring him would be inexpensive; allegedly a “late-round pick swap.” Financially, he’d be inexpensive, as well, with a minimum base salary of $1.145 million and a $906,000 roster bonus.

Potential Trade: Anthony Richardson

The Colts are looking to move Anthony Richardson, the fourth pick of the 2023 draft. His stats are horrific, but he’s got elite physical tools and made some highlight-reel plays. LaFleur spoke highly of him before the 2024 matchup.

“That dude has a cannon.” ⬇️https://t.co/OacIAqzlOK
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 14, 2026

Potential Free Agent: Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo went 38-17 as a starter for the 49ers from 2017 through 2022. While it’s true Garoppolo had a superb supporting cast, he also completed 67.6 percent of his passes with a 99.2 passer rating during those six seasons.

The 34-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Rams. In 2024, he started one game and threw for 334 yards. In 2025, he played in three games but didn’t throw a pass. He’d have a deep base knowledge of Green Bay’s offense.

Potential Reclamation Project: Zach Wilson

If the Packers are enamored by the potential of Richardson and Levis, who would have to be acquired in a trade, why not just sign Zach Wilson?

The second pick of the 2021 draft, Wilson went 12-21 with three starts for the Jets during his first three seasons. He didn’t play in a game in 2024 and was 6-of-11 passing for the Dolphins in 2025. The stats are terrible – 57.0 percent completions and 23 touchdowns vs. 25 interceptions – but he’s got a big arm and above-average athletic ability.

Or Just Go With: Desmond Ridder

If you had to handicap the backup race, even if accounting for a potential trade, Desmond Ridder probably would be the favorite.

Ridder, who the Packers signed late last season, was a third-round pick by the Falcons in 2022. In 17 starts in two seasons with Atlanta, one was a 25-24 victory over Green Bay in 2023, when he accounted for 276 total yards. He started one for the Raiders in 2024 and didn’t play in a game in 2025.

In 25 career games (18 starts), he’s completed 63.6 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and an 82.6 passer rating. He’s added 3.8 yards per carry.

“He’s a guy that we’ve seen up close and personal,” LaFleur said last season. “We played against him when he was in Atlanta and watching what he did in that game, he led them to a win. So, he’s got experience in the system.”

Love, Ridder and former Syracuse star Kyle McCord, a sixth-round pick by the Eagles last year, are the quarterbacks under contract.

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