I think the biggest thing Macagnan would have to try and determine is if Cousins can handle pressure. And not just a little pressure. Signing for $30 mil annually in this media market for this team that hasn't had a QB in forever is enormous pressure. Is he going to be able to handle it in stride if he struggles a little early and is booed off the field or Mehta writes about how overrated he is in September? If you think Cousins can handle that stuff, great, but make no mistake, a swing for the fences signing like this does not come with patience like even drafting a rookie would
Just to play a little more.. The 4 biggest FA QB acquisitions that all led their respective teams to SB appearances were Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner, Drew Brees and of course Manning. Now if you examine each of those players in the 3 years leading up to FA you could make the argument Kirk is among the biggest QBs to hit FA maybe ever. This obviously comparing when they were FA not what they did afterward. Rich Gannon never threw for over 2400 yards before signing with Oakland only threw for over 4000 once in his entire career. His only year with a passer rating above 80 pre-Oakland was in 96 when he had a PR of 92.4. < Cousins Kurt Warner is obviously tougher because he was bagging groceries before Arizona so it's hard to compare stats obviously as a FA and clearly gives Kirk the edge since this only compares them as FA prospects. Anyway just for kicks if you compare Warner's first 3 years (which include 2 super bowl appearances, 3 pro bowls and 2 first team all pro selections) he still averaged less passing yards per year than Cousins. < Cousins Drew Brees was not a better FA prospect than Cousins in any statistical category. Again comparing last 3 years in SD to Kirk"s last 3 in Washington Brees averaged less yards, TD,s and worse passer rating than Kirk. Granted he was only 26 so younger than Cousins and he missed a couple games in 03 but still doesn't come close by the numbers. < Cousins That leaves Peyton. Statistically obviously Peyton wins here but there are other things to consider. Peyton's last 3 healthy years in Indy he beat out Kirk in all the major stats but not by much when you consider attempts. Averaging 4,400 yards per season to Kirk's 4,392 and 31 TD average to Kirk's 27 but he also had 601 attempts compared to Kirk's 563 which reflects a much more pass happy offense. Peyton averaged more picks (15 to Kirk's 12) but who's counting. Statistically and based on sheer success as a QB FA prospect Manning has the clear edge BUT remember there was a lot of chatter that he may never play again because of the neck injury and a lot thought even if he played he could never play as high a level. He was also much older so that coupled with the neck doesn't make him a landslide over Kirk but I will still give him the edge. > Cousins Any way the fact is QB's of his caliber simply don't come along very often if ever as a FA that is healthy, young and zero baggage. We are just lucky enough to be in a position where we have the cap space and the opportunity. Sign this beast.
Cousins teams SUCKED?? Really? So he comes here ...TO ANOTHER TEAM THAT SUCKS? THAT makes a lot of sense to the Mich State grad who " does his homework and WANTS to WIN NOW" New OC Bates will be a Lollypop but I don't think Cousins is a sucker
Unless Minnesota doesn't tag or sign Keenum and/or Jacksonville releases Bortles, who is a better option? Denver? Their defense is aging. They'll also likely have to get rid of at least one of their starting WR's in order to fit Cousins under the cap. Cleveland? Yeah, no. Who else is there that has the money? Buffalo sure doesn't. Neither does Arizona.
I think Jacksonville and Minnesota are legitimate landing places for Cousin. Bradford will be gone, Bortles will be gone, Teddy and even Keenum might be up for trade/release.
It's a great year to need a QB with Cousins available and a top heavy QB draft. If we end up watching all these other teams seal the deal and holding our johnsons with Case Keenum and some 2nd round or later pick I'm gonna be quite angry
All 3 of the Minnesota QB's are actually Free Agents and if they do decide to not tag Keenum, I think Minnesota does become the leader in the Cousins sweepstakes. However, Jacksonville will have a tough time getting away from Bortles due to his wrist injury and after those two teams, I refuse to believe any other remaining team that has any sort of cap space is a better fit than the Jets. They may be on equal ground, but substantially better? I don't see that in Denver, Cleveland or Arizona and I don't care what Kirk says, I like the guy a lot, but money will definitely play a factor, as will an organization treating him like the face of the franchise. The Jets can offer more $ than anyone but Cleveland and you know this organization and fan base would largely treat Cousins beautifully..... until the first INT.
Interestingly enough, the cumulative record of the teams of those five players over those three years is 121-117-1, with a total of five playoff appearances and a 4-5 record in those playoff games.
I keep trying to think of a better situation that will go all in on Cousins and I get stumped every time. If Jax or Vikes get involved they’d move to the head of the line but all indications seem to be that they are staying put with the QBs they each went to the championship game with. I don’t think Denver will even be realistically involved let alone a better option.
I agree - if the Jets want Cousins they got a tremendous break when Bortles needed surgery, since that makes it almost impossible for Jacksonville to move on from him. Minnesota is then by far the best landing spot for him, so it's up to them: they'll either move on from Keenum and go all in on Cousins, commit to Keenum with a 3+-year contract, or (most likely) franchise Keenum and make him prove he can do it again. Of course if they do that and he bombs, and meanwhile Cousins plays well wherever he is, they'll take loads of grief for potentially blowing a big Super Bowl opportunity.
Agree. You could very well be one hundred % correct. I think the Vikings are for sure the wild card. Don't know enough about the Arizona's situation but on paper they would provide Kirk with a better team/coaching staff, but finances might be an issue.
You would think Bates will play a pretty significant role in the QB selection thru the draft/free agency or both. Bowles will lean heavily on experience and that might not necessarily be the better long term answer. We must find the FQB this team desperately needs this year and role with him.
Yes...let's go ahead and take the bait...but look out I think Br4d summed it up perfectly in his post for the Jets to make it to the SB in 3 years thread...you draft a QB and build around him Some people here want sustainable success
There's no way that the Browns will be hearing offers for the #1 when they themselves need a QB. D'arnold is not an option as far as I'm concerned. Trading up to #3 or #4 seems like a stretch since the quality of QB will be around the same at #6 if one of the teams infront of us gets Cousins in this scenario and doesn't need a QB. I would stay at #6 which has been a very kind draft position to us these past couple years by getting Leo and Adams.
A 29, soon to be 30, year old franchise QB can't bring sustainable success? This isn't like bringing in a Vinny Testaverde or Brett Favre. This is someone who is still in their prime and will be for a few years, at least. He's only started in Washington for the past 3 seasons. Cousins can be the face of this franchise for 5-7 years, easily, if not longer and in the NFL that's an eternity. Again, this would be an entirely different situation if we were picking 1 or 2 or if we weren't the New York Jets, but we're picking 6 and we are the New York Jets. Signing someone like Cousins, who would solidify the position for at least half a decade if not an entire one, is a no-brainer to me when compared with drafting a project like Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield or trading up and losing valuable draft picks for a slightly more polished product, but still a product with question marks, like Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold. There is no "can't miss" prospect in this class. We don't control how the draft will fall out. This organization has failed time and time again trying to groom their own franchise Quarterback. This fan base is impatient. This coaching staff is going into Year 4 and needs to win. These are just some of the reasons as to why Cousins makes the most sense.
Fitzgerald coming back both hurts and helps their case for someone like Cousins. Have a WR of his caliber would be ideal, one would think, but he will also eat up a fair share of their cap room. I'm glad he's coming back.
When I look at cousins I think about his durability as well. Rosens durability is a huge red flag especially with our offensive line. He's a talent yes but trading up for an injury prone QB that just doesn't make sense and remember he is injury prone in college. Just wait till he hits the NFL. Once RG3 got blown up his career was pretty much done and remember the pics used to get him...damn. All while Cousins picked in the 4th has been proven reliability to stay on the field.
