Kirk Cousins -> Broncos?

[Doctor DDS]

Have no idea if Cousins is any good or not. He piles up pretty good stats but have not watched the Redskins enough to get a true sense of how meaningful to the game they are. I have seen him crap the bed a few times in big moments the past couple of years but the sample size was so small I am not sure if that is who he is or not.

Would not want to be in a position where giving him $25M a year for multiple years was "best" for my team. That said, the Broncos defense has a very short window left and maybe he is enough to get them back in contention for the next couple of years.

 

[Kontradiction]

while cousins helps them at the QB position, their biggest problem is coaching. with mediocre coaching in washington, cousins couldn’t get it done. and now if he goes to denver his coaching situation is worse.

The quarterback position is the most important one in the sport. By far. That's not debatable. The Donks, as they are currently constructed, have a terrible situation at that position. Cousins isn't the be-all, end-all to their problems, but he goes a LONG way toward healing their most important one.

 

[Ring 6]

Their defense is still talented. They were freelancing quite a bit. They'd contend for a playoff spot if not outright getting in. He's by far and away better than whatever they lined up at that position the last two years. But that's about as far as they'd go.

Nah they are coming apart at the seams. They are aging and cousins won’t help.

 

[dafoe2016]

Even if they do find the cap space without gutting the team even further. There will be better options out there for Kirk than a team with an aging defensive core, a bad coach and a GM who is terrible at drafting. I don't see this Denver team having a much brighter future than Washington. If I'm going to play for a mediocre organization, I would stick with a team I'm already comfortable with. We forget this, but these guys are people too. Why uproot your whole family and go to an entirely new city just to play out your career in a city that probably is never going to compete for a title? They have nothing at running back and as much as everyone like to rag on their terrible QBs, the WRs aren't anything special either. Lots of drops from that unit. And not a very good offensive line. This team did not go 5-11 because they are missing a QB. They are a mess. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose even more games next year.

I don't see Cousins going there. He's going to be 30. I assume he's going to want to compete.

 

[Joey007]

I think Cousins would help out Denver, but only to an extent.

Cousins would take loads of cap space, so they will likely have to cut ties with other defensive players. They also have yet to build a completely formidable O-line, which would also hamper Cousins play.

With Cousins, you’d basically see them hover around .500 like the Redskins have.

If Cousins wants to go to somewhere where he could win, he should go to Jacksonville where most of the pieces around him are already in place WITH the cap space to sign him up.

 

[Joey007]

Nah they are coming apart at the seams. They are aging and cousins won’t help.

Talib I think is gone soon.

Once Talib leaves, nothing about that defense will be scary. Really their CB duo is all they have left that’s special outside of Von.

 

[Ring 6]

Talib I think is gone soon.

Once Talib leaves, nothing about that defense will be scary. Really their CB duo is all they have left that’s special outside of Von.

Which is why they were 22 in points allowed.

 

[zb25]

Even if they do find the cap space without gutting the team even further. There will be better options out there for Kirk than a team with an aging defensive core, a bad coach and a GM who is terrible at drafting. I don't see this Denver team having a much brighter future than Washington. If I'm going to play for a mediocre organization, I would stick with a team I'm already comfortable with. We forget this, but these guys are people too. Why uproot your whole family and go to an entirely new city just to play out your career in a city that probably is never going to compete for a title? They have nothing at running back and as much as everyone like to rag on their terrible QBs, the WRs aren't anything special either. Lots of drops from that unit. And not a very good offensive line. This team did not go 5-11 because they are missing a QB. They are a mess. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose even more games next year.

I don't see Cousins going there. He's going to be 30. I assume he's going to want to compete.

Good insight. Regarding why he might not stay with Washington- The Skins have continuously low balled him in negotiations and are not really in love with him. They think he hasn't produced enough wins for the team for the salary that he is demanding.

The HC also didn't have a lot of praise for him recently. Might be a sign that they are ready to move on from him.

Jay Gruden on Kirk Cousins: When you are 7-9, it’s hard to say he was outstanding


What better options would there be? I guess maybe the Jaguars or Cardinals?

 

[stinkypete]

This could play out beautifully.

Washington franchises Cousins, who trades him to Denver for #5 overall. Denver has to cut Aqib Talib to open up the cap space to pay Cousins like a top 5 QB, weakening their defense. Washington the packages #5 and #13 picks to Cleveland for #1 overall after Josh Rosen pulls an Eli Manning on the Browns. The Giants pick Rosen, a bidding war opens over Indy's #3 pick, and the Jets lose out on their QB.

Meanwhile, Cousins is good enough to lift a Denver team with a weakened defense to about 10 wins per year, and they are stuck in good but not great mode for the next 5 years.

I would love to see Cousins in Denver!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The quarterback position is the most important one in the sport. By far. That's not debatable. The Donks, as they are currently constructed, have a terrible situation at that position. Cousins isn't the be-all, end-all to their problems, but he goes a LONG way toward healing their most important one.

Agree about the importance of QB position. Cousins is a major upgrade even if he is as flawed as some here believe.
I believe that their aging defense is on the downslide. I hope that's true. I despise the Donks.

 

[Simpelton]

Cousins to either Baltimore or Arizona. Denver will compte for him but doesn't have enough to offer. The Broncos are on the way down. Both Baltimore and Arizona are an upgrade at QB away from being wild card contenders. Especially the Cardinals, where nabbing one of the B1 grade quarterbacks on the market is an urgent priority, but I think Cousins is an upgrade over Flacco too.

I don't think that the Broncos are a quarterback away, like the Cards and possibly the Ravens.

 

[Bill Lee]

This could play out beautifully.

Washington franchises Cousins, who trades him to Denver for #5 overall. Denver has to cut Aqib Talib to open up the cap space to pay Cousins like a top 5 QB, weakening their defense. Washington the packages #5 and #13 picks to Cleveland for #1 overall after Josh Rosen pulls an Eli Manning on the Browns. The Giants pick Rosen, a bidding war opens over Indy's #3 pick, and the Jets lose out on their QB.

Meanwhile, Cousins is good enough to lift a Denver team with a weakened defense to about 10 wins per year, and they are stuck in good but not great mode for the next 5 years.

I would love to see Cousins in Denver!

Not gonna happen.

The whole attraction of Cousins is that you don't have to give up draft capital to get him. There's no way someone gives WAS a high draft pick and then deals with Cousin's salary demands. Also for this to happen WAS would need to fit his $34M hit into their cap, and that won't happen.

I think the Jete might be a player. He's a McKown/Fitzgerald type of guy, but younger. They too will not give up draft capital to get him, but they might put out the cash.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Cousins to either Baltimore or Arizona. Denver will compte for him but doesn't have enough to offer. The Broncos are on the way down. Both Baltimore and Arizona are an upgrade at QB away from being wild card contenders. Especially the Cardinals, where nabbing one of the B1 grade quarterbacks on the market is an urgent priority, but I think Cousins is an upgrade over Flacco too.

I don't think that the Broncos are a quarterback away, like the Cards and possibly the Ravens.

Cutting Flacco means a $28m dead cap hit. Not happening.

 

[Kontradiction]

Nah they are coming apart at the seams. They are aging and cousins won’t help.

We can agree to disagree then. I don’t see how improving the most important position on the field by several orders of magnitude won’t help.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The quarterback position is the most important one in the sport. By far. That's not debatable. The Donks, as they are currently constructed, have a terrible situation at that position. Cousins isn't the be-all, end-all to their problems, but he goes a LONG way toward healing their most important one.

cousins is better than what they have, but by “healing” you mean an 8-8 QB then I would agree.

 

[Wordsmyth]

Do the Broncos have the cap space to compete with a team like the Jets?

Has that ever stopped them before?

 

[convertedpatsfan]

not likely, not unless its all fully guarenteed. Cousins is looking at a base of 35 million next year if washington using the franchise tag, unless something drastic happens hes going to be one of the top 3 paid qb's

They could cut Talib. It would weaken their D, but he'd cost $1M in dead money and free up $11M.

Or they could have a big signing bonus. It carries some risk, but let's say they offered something similar to what Matt Stafford got (5 years, $135M, $60.5M guaranteed). They could guarantee the first two years of the deal around $10M/year and make $40M into a signing bonus, making his cap hit under $20M for the first few years of the deal and backloading it potentially, while Cousins gets around $50M right away, another $10M or so year 2, then higher annual salaries non-guaranteed.

I don't think Elway would do that, but it is a possibility.

 

[Kontradiction]

cousins is better than what they have, but by “healing” you mean an 8-8 QB then I would agree.

The team was 8-8. That same team had woes up front along the OL and not a whole hell of a lot to work with at WR. Both of the issues that plagued the Foreskins offensively are in better condition on the Donks. Considering what they've been trotting out at QB the last two seasons, this move is a no-brainer improvement. It'll come at a cost, but for a season or two it should put them back in playoff contention.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

For all the tears shed for the trading of Jimmy, the Redskins are example #1 of how to screw up your cap by keeping a guy you are not married to. They can't possible franchise him again, can they? I think the number this time would be $34! They have already paid him $44 million to play the last two years, clearly they could have fashioned a contract that he would have signed three years ago that would have paid him less than $78 million over the first three years!

Think about that for a second, Kirk Cousins has made $44 million dollars the last two years and he is in line to either make another $34 million this year, or sign a long term contract for even more money.

Cousins and Carr's contracts are two of the main reasons that the Patriots could not afford to "just franchise" Jimmy.

 

[BobDigital]

Denver needed a QB badly last year. It would have made them posibly the favorite. Their team is starting to get older and we saw that this year. While I do like Kirk he is no longer taking over the best defense in the NFL. Nor will the 10 other people he plays with on offense be all that good.

It would make them better and most teams with the chance to sign Cousins long term should do it. I just think even with him next year they may have already missed their window.