The NFL airwaves can be a cruel place.
On Sunday, Jayden Daniels succumbed to what appears to be a very serious injury. Consider the update that arrived courtesy of ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is expected to be sidelined indefinitely due to his dislocated left elbow, but it is uncertain whether his season is over.” Where will Washington turn for a new starter at quarterback?
NFL Airwaves, Kirk Cousins, & The NFL Trade Deadline
If mercy exists, Kirk Cousins will be traded.
To be sure, it’s hard to feel too bad for Mr. Cousins. He is, after all, commanding an annual salary coming in at $45 million. He’s earning that payday while being (mostly) inactive during games, putting his brain to work to help Atlanta’s QB1 — Michael Penix Jr. — but not getting onto the field in a physical manner. Were I the GM in Atlanta, I would be trading Cousins to the highest bidder.
And while there once appeared to be zero chance of Cousins ever going back to Washington, the NFL is no longer a place where Dan Snyder is operating (to the delight of the masses).
Head coach Dan Quinn is a very good coach. Last year, the Commanders had a wild year, going all the way to the NFC Championship game. Quinn’s leadership awakened the long-battered Commanders while Daniels had a brilliant rookie season. Presently, though, the Commanders are a 3-6 team, falling well short of expectations while the QB1 needs to get back to full health.
Could Cousins somehow resurrect a Washington season that’s quickly spiralling into oblivion?
Given all that has happened, seeing Kirk Cousins go back to Washington would be a head turner. But the NFL is a place where odd things happen all the time, even a place where misguided trades sometimes become real.
Recent weeks have featured all kinds of Kirk Cousins trade chatter. More specifically, there has been explorations aplenty of Cousins putting a horn back onto his helmet. With a struggling J.J. McCarthy — is that still true? — the suggestion made at least some sense. Trading for a starting-level passer at this stage, though, would appear to be a non-starter.
So, one wonders if the very simple math starts leading to a different answer.
The Commanders have suffered a very unfortunate injury at quarterback. By definition, there’s now a need for a new starter. Quite possibly, Washington may turn to someone already on their team for that job; or, perhaps, there could be a move for a free agent or a decision to pilfer off a practice squad.
The other option? Seeing Kirk Cousins go back to the nation’s capital.
There has been a minus one for the Commanders. A plus one with Cousins makes sense only insofar as he’s likely still a capable(ish) starter. Whether he’s a fit within Kliff Kingsbury’s offense isn’t quite as straightforward as whether he’s a fit for Kevin O’Connell, but that’s something the Commanders would need to sort through.
Casting further doubt on the situation is that Washington’s $26 million in open room (Over the Cap) may be better served rolled over into 2026 rather than burned up on a passer who may have seen good football slip away. Moreover, teams seldom overcome a 3-6 record to do something special.
Just how often has Cousins proved capable of being a team savior? Why trade an asset — and cap space aplenty — for someone with that history?
The NFL’s trade deadline arrives on Tuesday, November 4th, which is better known as tomorrow. Seeing the 37-year-old Kirk Cousins stick around in Georgia would mean the veteran has one of his final seasons in the NFL burned up on backup duty for a team that’s going nowhere.
