The chatter about Kirk Cousins to the Browns this coming offseason has permeated Cleveland airwaves like a cargo plane full of pollen crashing into the city.

A reunion with head coach Kevin Stefanski is intriguing; the two were together in Minnesota and enjoyed some success with the Vikings. Cousins was the starter there beginning in 2018 while Stefanski was the quarterbacks coach. He was named interim offensive coordinator when John DeFilippo was fired midseason.

That position became permanent for Stefanski (or as permanent as things are in the Not For Long league) after the 2018 campaign was over. The Vikes went 10-6 the following year and won a playoff game against the Saints in New Orleans in which Cousins threw the game-winner in overtime. Stefanski was then hired as head coach by the Browns for 2020.

Cousins stayed in Minnesota through 2023: a year that saw him suffer a torn Achilles in Week 8. He was signed for this past season by the Atlanta Falcons who jumped out to a 6-3 record, but was benched after a Week 15 win that stopped a four-game skid.

Rookie Michael Penix Jr. replaced Cousins as the Falcons’ signal caller and, despite missing the playoffs, the organization seems poised to build around him as the future in Atlanta.

Many had leapt to the conclusion that Cousins would be released as a procedural matter related to his contract. Then head coach Raheem Morris made comments this week relating to the team’s plans and how Cousins could fit into them.

So is it disinformation and mirrors? Or is there fire somewhere within the smoke? We’ll get to that right now in Part 2.

—@PoisonPill4