Sean McVay and Kirk Cousins go all the way back to the quarterback’s rookie season with the Redskins in 2012 and the Rams are open to a reunion this year if L.A. doesn’t make an agreement with Jimmy Garoppolo. On Monday, McVay said that the Rams would like to have Cousins as Matthew Stafford’s backup if the team doesn’t work it out with Jimmy Garoppolo.
McVay cited Cousins as “influential” in his ability to get the Rams head coaching job in 2017 and that the quarterback is also considering other offers.
“People make some of the connections with Kirk,” McVay said. “If it doesn’t work out with Jimmy, that’s definitely something that — Kirk is as influential as anybody in helping me get to L.A. in the first place. I know he’s got some other options and some other suitors, but Jimmy and Kirk are guys that I’d love to have back with us.”
It’s surprising that Cousins has had no serious suitors after almost a month of free agency. It’s not as though he’d be a shoo-in to start for anybody, but there’s no option to be a bridge starter for the Raiders or in a competition somewhere that’s hurting at the position? The Rams could end up getting a rather significant discount on Cousins to be Stafford’s backup if he has no offers to compete anywhere else.
Thus far the Rams have shown no urgency to have a veteran backup for Stafford either. Stetson Bennett is the only other quarterback on the roster and McVay gave no indication that the Rams see him as a future starter or even as a current backup. Otherwise he could have simply said that L.A. was comfortable with Bennett.
Cousins was benched for Michael Penix in 2024 and then ended up going 5-3 as Atlanta’s starter in 2025. The Falcons still opted to release him and move forward with Penix. Cousins completed 61% of his passes and had 10 touchdowns with five interceptions last year.
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