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09	Februar 2018

Resetting the 2018 NFL offseason quarterback market

Kirk Cousins is a little more than a month away from showing us what can happen when a healthy, top-level starting quarterback in his prime hits the free-agent market. This will be unprecedented. In the era of the franchise tag, only two top-level quarterbacks have become unrestricted free agents -- Peyton Manning in 2012 and Drew Brees in 2006 -- and each was coming off a major injury at the time.

Cousins is 29 years old, healthy and coming off his third straight 4,000-yard passing season at a time of rapid salary-cap growth. As of March 12, when agents of prospective free agents are free to talk with other teams, Cousins will be in a position to set a new standard at the top of the NFL salary structure.

Now, because I know some of you will ask: No, I do not think there is any chance Washington franchises Cousins for the third year in a row. It's certainly true that it has considered the idea of franchising him and trying to trade him, in an effort to avoid losing him and getting nothing in Cameron Sutton Jersey return. And at this stage of the process, that's the right position for them to be taking outwardly, just in case some team wants to offer them something crazy. But I, and the sources I've spoken to on this matter, consider a third Cousins franchise tag (which would cost Washington about $34.5 million) a totally unrealistic outcome.
Why? Well, any team willing to trade anything of significance for Cousins would want to know that they can sign him long term, and for how much. Washington is likely to end up with a third-round compensatory pick if it lets Cousins walk, http://www.officialnflvikingsprostore.com/SHAMAR-STEPHEN-JERSEY-CHEAP.html which means a team probably would need to offer http://www.officialseahawksfootball.com/YOUTH+KAM+CHANCELLOR+JERSEY a second-rounder or more in order to get him, and why would a team do that if all it is guaranteed is one year at $34.5 million?
If Washington franchises Cousins, he'll surely rush to sign the tender and put the team in an impossible bind. That $34.5 million would immediately hit Washington's 2018 salary cap along with about $24 million in cap cost for Alex Smith, likely requiring undesirable roster cuts elsewhere and making it basically impossible for the team to do anything else in terms of player acquisition until they traded Cousins.
In theory, Cousins could make it easy on Washington by negotiating with potential trade partners on a long-term deal before a trade is finalized, but there's no reason to believe Cousins is or will be interested in doing his current team any favors. If Washington did decide to franchise Cousins, the more likely reason would be that it got cold feet on the Smith deal and decided to back out before it became official. As of Tuesday night, we can call this "Pulling a McDaniels." Not saying this will happen, but if Tuesday taught Alex Anzalone Jersey us nothing else, it's that nothing is final until it's final.
What Cousins wants -- and believes he deserves -- is a chance to hit the market unfettered, with a menu of potential new destinations from which to choose. It appears certain he will get that, and when he does, his deal could average $30 million or more per season with upward of $90 million in guarantees. The questions then will become how many teams will bid that high and how much he likes the idea of playing for those teams.
The Minnesota Vikings, who are coming off a 13-3 season and with all three quarterbacks on their roster eligible for free agency, should be at the top of Cousins' wish list. They have the cap space to make it happen. They have an elite defense, top-level wide receivers, a strong running game and an offensive line that -- while it might need some maintenance work in the coming years -- did an awfully good job of keeping Case Keenum clean in 2017. The question with the Vikings is how committed they are to developing Teddy Bridgewater as their long-term solution and Kyle Van Noy Jersey rewarding Keenum for what he did in 2017. If they bring one or both of those guys back, that probably rules out Cousins. But if they see themselves a Cousins away from the Super Bowl, maybe they change the plan and go for it.
The New York Jets also have the cap room and the need. Their roster needs more work than Minnesota's does, but the receiving corps showed promise this season, the coach just got extended, and Cousins has spoken highly of new offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates. Perhaps he'd enjoy a shot to make a big splash in Jarvis Landry Authentic Jersey the Big Apple. The Buffalo Bills are coming off a 9-7 season and have a No. 1 receiver in Kelvin Benjamin and an http://www.officialnikejetshop.com/keyshawn-johnson-jersey-for-sale-c-52.html elite running back in LeSean McCoy. If Cousins likes what Sean McDermott is putting together in Buffalo, the Bills become an interesting option that might not be too far from title contention. The Jacksonville Jaguars would be interesting if they found a way to move on from Blake Bortles, but his $19 http://www.authenticnikeseahawkshop.com/kj-wright-jersey-for-sale-c-25.html million contract option could end up being guaranteed if Bortles, who just had wrist surgery, can't pass a physical by early March.
The Cleveland Browns will have all kinds of money to spend, but that situation comes with a ton of uncertainty. How long will Hue Jackson be the coach? Would Cousins expect to click immediately with offensive coordinator Todd Haley? How close, really, is a team that is 1-31 over the past two years to contention?
There's long-range coaching staff uncertainty, too, with the Denver Broncos, who also have to move a bunch of money around to clear room for a Cousins pursuit. And while the Arizona Cardinals have a need and sound like a nicer place to live than some of these other options, the Cardinals feel like a start-from-scratch situation in the wake of Bruce Arians' and Carson Palmer's retirements (and possibly Larry Fitzgerald's, too).

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