Cousins was given until 2pm on Wednesday to nominate for Saturday's NAB AFL Draft and December's NAB AFL Pre-season Draft.
In a statement issued by his management Flying Start, Cousins said he had nominated for both drafts and would continue to pursue a return to AFL football after being delisted by West Coast last year and deregistered by the league.
Cousins said a return to the AFL system would help him in his battle against drug addiction.
"As part of my ongoing rehabilitation it was my goal to nominate for the 2008 AFL National and Pre Season Drafts," he said.
The statement also dismissed reports that Cousins had considered not returning to football after the AFL introduced specific drug-testing guidelines for him, including being urine-tested up to three times weekly and hair-tested as many as four times a year.
"I wish to clarify that at no stage did I say that I would not play football again following the conditions set down by the AFL Commission; while they are onerous they are understandable and achievable," he said.
"I hope to get the opportunity to return to the game that I love. Playing football at the highest level again is an important part of my ongoing rehabilitation and I believe that I can be a valuable contributor at an AFL club."
Cousins' comeback hopes received a blow on Tuesday night when the St Kilda board ruled out recruiting him.
Reports have suggested Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss has met with the 2005 Brownlow medallist, but that the Lions will not select him at Saturday's draft and will instead monitor his progress with a view to taking him in December.
Collingwood had also expressed some interest in him before withdrawing from the race in October.
