BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Kirk Cousins was seated at a table in the Mall of America food court Wednesday when two reporters from New York approached.
The Redskins quarterback, who is about to be the hottest free agent in the NFL, politely declined to discuss his pending free agency or the Jets. As one of the reporters walked away, he said, “maybe we’ll talk in a few months.”
“We’ll see,” Cousins said with a smile.
The trade of Alex Smith to the Redskins, which will become official March 14, made it clear that Cousins will be a free agent when the league year begins. The Jets are expected to be one of several teams that will make a push to sign him. The question will be how big of a push?
Will Woody and Christopher Johnson hand general manager Mike Maccagnan a blank check to sign Cousins? That would not be like the Jets. They have not chased big free agents in recent years with the exception of Darrelle Revis in 2015, and that did not exactly work out.
But the Jets need a quarterback, and Cousins is going to be the big, shiny prize of free agency.
“This comes down to: What is the value?” former Ravens coach Brian Billick said Wednesday. “Obviously, Washington did not want to give Cousins one of those $100 million guaranteed contracts. I don’t know if it was offered to Cousins. I can very easily see if he was offered the [four-year, $94 million] contract Alex Smith was offered, he thinks he can get more. He might in the open market.”
There is no doubt that Cousins is going to become the highest-paid player in NFL history because he is the latest starting quarterback to hit the market. It has become not about whether the player is “worth” the money. It is about where the market is.
The Redskins did not believe in Cousins enough to sign him to a long-term deal, instead using the franchise tag on him in 2016 and 2017 to pay him $43.8 million over the two seasons. The Redskins being willing to let him leave as a free agent has to be a red flag for teams.
A few weeks ago, former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan told a Denver radio station: “He’s a good player. Is he special? I don’t see special. But also, we were still building a roster around him to make him special.”
Here at the Super Bowl, Eagles backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld praised Cousins, whom he played with in 2016 in Washington.
“I think the world of Kirk,” Sudfeld said. “The guy is a pro’s pro, as classy as they get. He always does and says all the right things. His talent speaks for itself. He’s got incredible arm talent, the way he can speed up his mechanics and get the ball out with quick decisions.”
Speaking to several NFL front office executives Wednesday about Cousins reveals a belief around the league that Cousins is a good quarterback who needs a strong team around him to win. He is not viewed as an elite passer like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees or Tom Brady, but the belief is a team can win with him.
“There’s no question that Kirk Cousins is a capable quarterback,” Billick said. “With the Jets, is he the guy? We’ll find out. They’re going to have to do a whole lot more than just Kirk Cousins to get that thing back on track.”
That is another part of this equation. Cousins will have options. Will he want to play for the Jets, who are coming off back-to-back 5-11 seasons and are entering Year 2 of a rebuild. A team like the Broncos or Jaguars might be more attractive to Cousins because of the supporting cast.
“Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No,” Cousins said Tuesday on “Pro Football Talk Live.” “It’s 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.”
Like Cousins said, we’ll see.