Ever since a medical expert claimed that Deshaun Watson could miss the entire 2025 season due to an Achilles tendon injury, the city of Cleveland has been desperately searching for more options at the position. One day ago, there was the Russell Wilson option. Was. He’s a Giant now. However, there is still the possibility of Aaron Rodgers. But as Kevin Stefanski searches for quarterback options in Deshaun’s absence, he is considering a former QB to take Watson’s job.

According to NFL Rumors’ official page on X, Kevin Stefanski is interested in his former quarterback from the Minnesota Vikings—Kirk Cousins. “🚨🚨NFL RUMORS #Browns still have strong interest in #Falcons Kirk Cousins,” tweeted popular X account @nflrums. Kirk Cousins and Kevin Stefanski were together in Minnesota during the first two years of the QB’s tenure from 2018 to 2023.

Discussing the possibility of Kirk Cousins joining the Browns, a national reporter has also highlighted the opportunity. SI’s Albert Breer said, “I do think if the Browns decide to take Carter with the second pick [of the 2025 Draft], then Cousins would appeal to them, given the relationship the quarterback has with Kevin Stefanski from Minnesota.” Stefanski worked with the Vikings from 2006 to 2019. So, Cousins teamed up with Stefanski for two seasons—when the current Browns head coach was the Vikings’ QB coach in 2018 and offensive coordinator in 2019.

The Browns are playing it safe. They acquired Kenny Pickett in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick. But it looks like the Browns haven’t locked in Pickett as the starting QB. And with Deshaun Watson also lost to injury, there is no clear option for Kevin Stefanski other than to search for another QB, probably a veteran. The advantage of adding Cousins would be that there’s no need to build HC-QB chemistry since they have already worked together.

While Deshaun Watson’s quarterback job is being threatened by the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins, he is also the subject of a bizarre trade rumor involving the Dallas Cowboys.

Deshaun Watson- Dak Prescott trade rumors

A Cleveland reporter has claimed that he was told the Browns are working on a trade to send Deshaun Watson to the Cowboys in return for QB Dak Prescott. While appearing on his show ‘Bonus Time with Bruce Drennan,’ the reporter claimed, “The Browns are negotiating as we speak with the Dallas Cowboys for a trade with Dak Prescott.” However, many insiders, including Jane Slater and Spotrac, quickly dismissed the claim as fake and purely speculative.

Jane Slater wrote on her X handle, “I run it all down when working this beat, and the Dallas Cowboys are NOT working on trading Dak to the Browns. In fact, texts with two sources tell me ‘fake news’ and ‘absolutely not’ before this gets any sort of wheels.” Along with her, Spotrac also reported that the Cowboys and Browns would have to bear a combined $273.4 million cap hit if the Watson-Prescott trade were to happen. On their official X handle, Spotrac said that if such a trade occurred before June 1st, Dak Prescott would carry a dead cap hit of $148.3M for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. In Deshaun Watson’s case, the Browns would need to pay him $125.1M in a single year.

Looking at both teams’ current situations, they are vulnerable at the QB position due to injuries. But taking on a financial burden of $273.4M would be quite literally impossible. Both players also have no-trade clauses in their respective contracts. Discussing this is pointless, it’s dead in the water. Plain and simple.

But while this update may be fake news, Browns fans can’t ignore Kevin Stefanski’s interest in Kirk Cousins. Would you like to see the veteran take the reins in Cleveland?