One team reportedly considering offering Kirk Cousins $60 million in his first year
The Jets are reportedly in hot pursuit of Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins.
And they are apparently ready to pay a ton of money to get him, reports the New York Post — to the tune of $60 million in his first year.
$60M in 1st year? Jets set to creatively pounce on Kirk Cousins https://t.co/1HbcIJtkor pic.twitter.com/Go9sqQiXiO
— New York Post (@nypost) February 20, 2018
Cousins is expected to become a free agent this offseason after Washington traded for Alex Smith from Kansas City.
The six-year veteran has been franchised each of the past two seasons, and there is a possibility, although unlikely, that the Redskins will franchise him again and possibly trade him.
But it’s more likely that Cousins will become a free agent. If he does, teams can begin negotiating with his agent March 12 and begin making offers March 14.
In January, Cousins said that should he become a free agent, he wanted to go where he had a chance to win.
“Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No,” Cousins told NBC Sports recently. “It is about winning, and that’s what I want more than anything, so I’m going to be willing to make sacrifices or do what has to be done to make sure I’m in the best possible position to win, and that’s what the focus is going to be.”
The Jets are among the teams that have reportedly expressed interest in Cousins, along with Denver, Minnesota and Cleveland.
The Broncos, even though they finished 5-11, are considered to be a top contender for his services since many believe they have a strong roster and could turn around their fortunes with a good quarterback at the helm.
The Vikings are obviously the best of the bunch, having made the NFC championship game, but they have three quarterbacks, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater — all of whom are free agents.
The Browns are the Browns.
That brings us to the Jets. Like the Broncos, they were 5-11, and like the Broncos, many believe they could compete for a playoff spot with a good quarterback.
What the Jets have going for them is a lot of cap space: $73.2 million now, according to the Post, and possibly as much as $92 million with some additional moves.
The expectation is that Cousins could land a bigger contract than Jimmy Garoppolo, who signed a five-year, $137.5 million deal with the 49ers. The Jets are even willing to get creative with the cap space to entice Cousins, who has thrown for more than 4,000 yards each of the past three seasons in Washington.
“Many people think that could mean a five-year, $150 million contract with a good chunk of that guaranteed,” writes the Post’s Brian Costello. “One league source speculated the Jets could front-load the contract and offer Cousins $60 million guaranteed in the first year of the contract. That would still leave them with about $30 million in cap space this year and then allow them to build around Cousins with lower cap figures in the remaining years of the contract.”
https://twitter.com/altwentytwo/status/965645972901711872
That’s a lot of money to throw at a quarterback who has never won a playoff game and will be 30 when the season starts. But it just shows how desperate the Jets are for a franchise quarterback.
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