Kirk Cousins: 5 best fits in NFL free agency
By John Buhler
Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is set to hit 2017 NFL free agency. Here are the five best landing spots for the Pro Bowl quarterback.
In his first two seasons as an NFL starting quarterback (2015-16), Washington Redskins signal caller Kirk Cousins has asserted himself as one of the most accurate passers in the NFL. He has a career 65.9 completion percentage and is proving to be a franchise quarterback by the snap.
Cousins has completed at least 67 percent of his passes, thrown for over 4,100 yards, and had 25 touchdown passes in the last two season. Washington chose to slap the franchise tag on Cousins in 2016 NFL free agency, costing the organization $19,953,000.
The Redskins could choose to use the franchise tag on Cousins again in 2017, but that will cost them well over $21 million next season. Cousins has emerged as a franchise quarterback after his fifth year in the league. He’s about to get paid like one. Here are the five best fits for him in 2017 NFL free agency.
New York Jets
AFC, East
Despite having strong defensive personnel, the New York Jets are in a terrible spot heading into 2017 NFL free agency. They are projected to be -$6,208,462 over the cap, have four quarterbacks on their roster, and not one of them is any bit good.
Third-year head coach Todd Bowles will be on the hot seat in 2017. Though he is a great defensive coach, he absolutely has to get the quarterback position right. He’ll have to do this with a new offensive coordinator in John Morton who takes over for the retiring Chan Gailey.
Morton is a disciple of the Sean Payton passing game with the New Orleans Saints. He should help the Jets be more explosive through the air, but New York has to rid themselves of at least two of the four quarterbacks from 2016: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg.
New York will likely purge a lot of its 2016 roster. If the Jets open up enough cap space, they could convince Cousins to come to the Big Apple. Cousins has won in a dysfunctional organization like Washington, so the circus associated with the Jets wouldn’t be anything he wasn’t used to.
Frankly, Cousins would be the most stable quarterback in New York since Ken O’Brien should he sign with the Jets. The Jets defense and weapons at his disposal could be enticing. However, organization chaos and a lack of salary cap flexibility makes New York only a tertiary landing spot for Cousins.