When was the last time a QB that has thrown consistently over 4000 yards been available in FA? Look at it this way then, say we drafted Cousins a few years back and he put up the same numbers he has with the skins over the last 3 years. He would be anointed the best QB we have had since Namath and I imagine there wouldn't be a soul on this board that didn't want to sign him long term regardless of his playoff record. So why now is that guy not worth singing just because he is a FA? Believe me all the skins fans wanted him back. Nobody wants to belong to the QB purgatory club us and half of the NFL happen to be members of. It's like he would be the step son you would love to succeed but deep down feels like he just isn't yours because we didn't draft him. He still put up great numbers last year while the injuries on the OL, RBs and TE as well as the busted signing of Pryor are all well documented.
This point seems to go ignored by most people. Hell, we have people comparing Cousins to Mike freaking Glennon.
Because franchise QBs in their prime NEVER hit free agency. This is as rare of a chance as they come and we need to capitalize. All the other big FA contracts have gone to guys who had no business getting them. Osweiller and Glennon don’t have a fraction of the resume Kirk does.
Yea I don't remember the last time a true franchise QB hit free agency besides Peyton. This doesn't happen. I would hand him a blank check.
When you take a long look at the cap situations of each team that needs a QB there are really only a couple who I feel are realistic suitors to cousins. Denver would like to be in the race but they are in a bad cap situation to sign cousins and resign there own players and add additional players it would be very difficult. They pic in the top 5 so why not just get one of the top 4 and play Semien till the new saviour is ready. The Cardinals can't afford Cousins without restructuring. Does the new coach really want to have no options to bring in new players? Minnesota does not have much wiggle room either. They are a well run team...I don't think they will voluntarily put themselves in a bad contract situation to have cousins when they can get Keenum back for cheaper. The Bills are probably done with Tyrod Taylor but I doubt they will go after cousins...I see them trading up to get a QB in the first. The jags maybe as they have built a great team but I could see them making a run at Foles if he becomes available to trade or even Tyrod Taylor. That brings us to 2 teams that has ample amount of cap space to improve their respective teams and are in the position in the draft to improve their teams as well. The Browns and the Jets. For some reason I just don't see John Dorsey sitting and waiting for his QB to develop. He could vastly improve the Browns with Barkley and maybe an edge rusher with 1 and 4 or trade down....maybe grab the best WR if the draft Cousins. Then with their 2 number 2's beef up the Oline. They have so much cap even with Cousins they could really upgrade this team everywhere with both the draft and free Agency. Dorsy has built great teams. I don't know why people think Cleveland is not a remote possibility. I think this is year Cleveland changes their luck. The Jets will be the other team that can open the cheque book pretty wide for cousins but as people have said that hampers our ability to bring in free agents...not completely but I just see macagnan signing a QB like McCown and going the route of an Allen or Mayfield. It's all speculation of course but I see cleveland making a run at cousins to. Boy wouldn't that make things crazy in the offseason.
In the 3 years leading up to the Jets signing him Neil threw 3208, 2443 and 2970 yards with 14, 13 and 17 TDs. Cousins has thrown 4166, 4917 and 4093 yards with 29, 25 and 27 TD's I realize it's a more QB driven league now but the average throwing yards per season was 3,590.4 in 2017 and still 3,532 in 1995. Just sayin.
And you would be wrong. Cousins has never not thrown 4,200+ Yards, O'Donnel threw just over 3,000 yards once. Cousins throws at 65%, O'Donnel, 50s, with about half the number of TDs. He wasn't a franchise QB, that was the problem. But for some reason people bring him up as if it means anything, other than to bring up a shitty QBs name. They have nothing in common.
In most cases that I can remember big name QBs usually hit free agency when there are injury questions involved like with Peyton Manning and Drew Brees I guess you could even throw our own Chad Pennington in there.
And guess what happened shortly after the Saints and Broncos made huge splashes signing those free agent QBs to big deals?
Injury or age, otherwise the idea of finding a franchise QB in FA is an enigma. This opportunity only came about because frankly Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder are idiots. They gambled and lost, period.
stats were different back then dude. You can't compare raw numbers like that from an era where passing the football was way more difficult than today. At the time, Neil O'Donnell was seen as franchise QB type available in free agency because he was. The fact that he turned out to be shitty doesn't change who he was in 1995. -- I'm not even saying that because he turned out to be shitty that the Jets shouldn't go after Cousins. Because every player is different. O'Donnell's issues came from his head and his heart. Idk where Cousins stands in those departments. I'm just saying that it is not un-precedented for "franchise QB" types to come available in free agency. Some of them work out well- Manning, Brees.... some not so well- O'Donnell, Culpepper. just like any other position
I'm not against the idea...your exactly right and what happened with the injured Brees and Manning...both won Superbowls for their new teams who took chances on them....cousins isn't even injured.
I never remember O'Donnell being looked at as a FQB. Culpeper was considered a solid QB not Franchise... cousins is not even looked at as FQB he is a very good QB top 10 who the Jets would be lucky to have under center.
Stats were different to an extent but as I stated above the average passing yards were similar. Also Neil was 12th in passer rating, 17th in TDs and 17th in passing yards in 1995, hardly the same class as Cousins when compared to QBs from the same era.
Here’s your comprehensive list of all NFL QB’s to throw for 4,000+ yards in each of the last 3 seasons: Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins That’s it.
You can tell me all you want about stats being different. Neil O'Donnel never was on a level compared to others that Cousins is today. It's totally unprecedented, even if O'Donnel is considered a FQB. For one, Brees was not a FQB when he went to NO. Manning was an exception, a few seasons away from retirement and an injury question who was replaced by Luck. In Manning tradition bullied his way out of Indy, didn't even want Luck drafted. So yeah, once every blue moon a QB becomes available
The Jets won 5 games with young players and have tons of cap room even after signing Cousins. The Broncos won 5 games with old players and need to cut their best players just to make room for Cousins. I hope he doesn’t get enticed by that 2015 Super Bowl because that team is LONG gone.
