Do we really want Kirk Cousins?

[Freemanm]

 

Jay Gruden: Kirk Cousins is a very good QB, but we’re 7-9

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 2, 2018, 12:47 PM EST

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Does Washington coach Jay Gruden desperately want the team to spend whatever it will take to retain free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason? It sounds more like Gruden would be fine with having Cousins around but not overly disappointed if some other team out-bids them for Cousins’ services.

Gruden was asked to sum up Cousins’ season, and he answered, “I’m still in that evaluation process.”

That’s a bit of an odd statement. The season is over and Gruden has watched Cousins all year, not to mention last year, the year before that and the year before that. At this point, Gruden would seem to know what he has in Cousins.

So what does he have? Gruden noted both that Cousins played well and that he didn’t play enough to elevate the whole team during a challenging season.

“When you’re 7-9, you know it’s hard to say, ‘Wow, this guy really was outstanding,’” Gruden said. “Kirk had his flashes where he was really good. From a consistent standpoint, over the course of 16 games, you know, we’re 7-9. He did some great things, threw for over 4,000 yards and 29 touchdowns. So I think he’s a very, very good quarterback without a doubt, but as far as getting us over the hump from 7-9 to winning a division with all the injuries that we had, I think he competed and did some good things.”

So now the question is this: How much is Washington willing to pay a quarterback who is “very good” but not good enough to elevate them above 7-9? And if they invest more money in Cousins, how will they afford to improve elsewhere on the roster while still fitting under the league’s salary cap? And if they don’t pay Cousins, who will be their starting quarterback in 2018? Those won’t be easy questions to answer.

[UntouchableCrew]

Not that the Redskins are a successful, functional organization whose personnel decisions are to be unquestioned -- but there's a reason they've dragged their feet on paying this guy for three years. He isn't that good.

[Gen X Jet]

Pair him with T Bowles' elite 25th ranked defense and we are instant super bowl contenders.  

 

 

[joewilly12]

What has he won in Washington? 

@nj meadowlands negative reps a factual post answer the question. 

[section314]

Gruden sounds like an idiot....probably much more of the problem in Washington than Cousins.

[MDL_JET]

Bust.

[Warfish]

Cousins is not why this team is 7-9.

I agree with the general "Is Cousins worth 30 million a year" sentiment.

But Gruden the Younger is a chucklehead, and his first post-Cousins year would likely be his last as a Head Coach in the NFL.

[joewilly12]

1 minute ago, Warfish said:

Cousins is not why this team is 7-9.

I agree with the general "Is Cousins worth 30 million a year" sentiment.

But Gruden the Younger is a chucklehead, and his first post-Cousins year would likely be his last as a Head Coach in the NFL.

Id take him over TB any day of the week. 

[Grandy]

I'd want him. He's been top 5 for the last 3 years, still pretty young, and when you look at his stats, he'd probably be the best QB we've ever had.

[JoJoTownsell1]

3 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

What has he won in Washington? 

What did Drew Brees win in San Diego?

[JoJoTownsell1]

4 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Cousins is not why this team is 7-9.

I agree with the general "Is Cousins worth 30 million a year" sentiment.

But Gruden the Younger is a chucklehead, and his first post-Cousins year would likely be his last as a Head Coach in the NFL.

30 million is insane but 20-22 should get it done

[Warfish]

Just now, JoJoTownsell1 said:

30 million is insane but 20-22 should get it done

I highly doubt that.  We'll see.

[Villain The Foe]

If we got Cousins  no one would complain. He'd be one of the best qb's in Jets history in terms of talent without even taking a  snap. 

It's  hard for me to see the redskins actually letting him walk, and even if they did, its hard to think that Cousins would pick the Jets over other teams with either better Coaching or talent.

[CanadienJetsFan]

Good god, no Kirk Cousins 

[Villain The Foe]

7 minutes ago, section314 said:

Gruden sounds like an idiot....probably much more of the problem in Washington than Cousins.

He sounds more like a coach thats not going to provide statements that will be used against the organization during Negotiation.  Thats something  Rex Ryan would do. 

[MDL_JET]

Crazy to me that he's already gonna be 30 next season. Keep thinking he's 26 or something. If we get him I sure as hell hope it's at least for a good 5-6 more years. 

[Freemanm]

4 minutes ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

What did Drew Brees win in San Diego?

I think you mean Philip Rivers?

[Mecca]

The issue with Cousins is that he'd cost 30 million a year at 31 years old. No thanks. 

[joewilly12]

Why do we want another teams QB especially at the cost?  I understand QB hungry, starved since Joe Namath left. But I prefer a rookie a young gun who will be here for years to come and hopefully be successful and win us multiple Super Bowls.  No more re-treads. 

[nycdan]

When you look at the stats, Cousins is very comparable to Matt Ryan over the last 3 years.  And Cousins did not have Julio Jones to throw to, or anywhere near the level of RB play supporting him.  Now I know that most of you bashing Cousins would happily take Ryan on this team as the QB for the next 3 years.  So is it Cousins' performance on the field?  Or just that he was a low-round, nearly no-name pick that outplayed his draft position?

[Patriot Killa]

10 minutes ago, Mecca said:

The issue with Cousins is that he'd cost 30 million a year at 31 years old. No thanks. 

30 years old when the season starts. I’d personally pass for that fact alone. I mean..if we wind up getting him, the only way I’m not mad is if we do so well we win 10 plus games and go to the playoffs. And even then i’d Still feel robbed because it’ll take forever to get another guy worthy of FQB status long after Cousins. But i want Baker. I want Rosen. I want a guy who has a chance to do just as good or better for 10 plus years. These attractive bandaid options are getting tedious. We are always screaming about the alternative way until we take it and then we want to revert back to our organizations ways when the opportunity presents itself.

[shuler82]

One benefit to signing Cousins over drafting a QB - at least Bowles would have no problem playing Cousins once/when McCown gets hurt.

[Untouchable]

Damn straight I want him

If you guys want to keep holding out for the next Brady or Rodgers while we continue to dick around and tread water with total scrubs at QB...then suit yourselves.

Me? I’ll take the guy who has been a Top 8 QB statistically ever since he took over as a full time starter 3 years ago and will just be turning 30 in August.

Plus I get to keep all of my draft picks and still have the cash left over to bring in a #1 corner like Malcolm Butler/Trumaine Johnson and retain some of our own guys like ASJ and Davis.

I’d still love to know just who the hell Washington is going to replace him with.

[shuler82]

1 minute ago, Patriot Killa said:

30 years old when the season starts. I’d personally pass for that fact alone. I mean..if we wind up getting him, the only way I’m not mad is if we do so well we win 10 plus games and go to the playoffs. And even then i’d Still feel robbed because it’ll take forever to get another guy worthy of FQB status long after Cousins. But i want Baker. I want Rosen. I want a guy who can do just as good or better for 10 plus years. These attractive bandaid options are getting tedious. We are always screaming about the alternative way until we take it. 

+1

i can’t think of a single QB who’s play didn’t fall off a cliff after age 29

[Bleedin Green]

Cousins, at his age and being a step below that top level, is certainly not the ideal franchise guy everyone dreams about.  That said, he is undoubtedly better than anyone the Jets have had at the position in a very, very long time.  The ideal scenario would be the Jets instead hitting on their true franchise guy in the draft, but that couldn't be further from any sort of sure thing.  So if they were able to get him, I certainly wouldn't be able to blame the team too much for doing that, but that might also depend on what the final price really is.  To be honest though, depending on how many years such a deal wound up being guaranteed, I wouldn't blame for them still grabbing another in the draft.

[SenorGato]

So I think he’s a very, very good quarterback without a doubt, but as far as getting us over the hump from 7-9 to winning a division with all the injuries that we had, I think he competed and did some good things.”

This is really, really damning. This guy wants half a team’s cap space for all eternity and this is what his coach had to say about him? 

 

[The Crimson King]

Anyone signing him will have no choice but to overpay

That is not worth it unless all the other pieces are in place, like a few actual pro bowl players.

 

[Untouchable]

26 minutes ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

30 million is insane but 20-22 should get it done

It’s going to be in the $25-27 range.

You’re going to have to make him the highest paid QB in the league. Which isn’t outlandish. Matthew Stafford is currently the highest paid QB in the league and I’d give Cousins the edge over him as the better QB.

I don’t care about the money. I’ll let Macc and the bean counters in the front office worry about that.

Just solve the damn QB situation already. That’s all I care about.

[Patriot Killa]

1 minute ago, SenorGato said:

 

 

This is really, really damning. This guy wants half a team’s cap space for all eternity and this is what his coach had to say about him? 

 

It should be a red flag for suitors like us. With that said, these comments will probably irk Cousins and drive him further away from resigning. Look for him to be a Denver Bronco. They are set up for success with a decent QB under center, albeit, an older version of the team but very similar to the 2013 team that got Manning in FA and just plugged and played him.

[SenorGato]

13 minutes ago, nycdan said:

When you look at the stats, Cousins is very comparable to Matt Ryan over the last 3 years.  And Cousins did not have Julio Jones to throw to, or anywhere near the level of RB play supporting him.  Now I know that most of you bashing Cousins would happily take Ryan on this team as the QB for the next 3 years.  So is it Cousins' performance on the field?  Or just that he was a low-round, nearly no-name pick that outplayed his draft position?

Stats?

The thing about the QB position and the Jets is that they do not need stats. Stats do not win you football games. Cousin’s own coach called his heart, will, fire, and it right out and said this guy cannot win you more than 7 games. That is his own coach! 

So what happens if you give him all the cap space for all eternity like he demands? He throws some meaningless TDs? Yards? Complete alot of passes at a high rate? Jets do not need that, they need a QB that knows how to WIN. 

[SenorGato]

1 minute ago, Untouchable said:

It’s going to be in the $25-26 range.

You’re going to have to make him the highest paid QB in the league. Which isn’t outlandish. Matthew Stafford is currently the highest paid QB in the league and I’d give Cousins the edge over him as the better QB.

I don’t care about the money. I’ll let Macc and the bean counters in the front office worry about that.

Just solve the damn QB situation already. That’s all I care about.

Wait until you and all of us get our share of the bill! And that is before the price of another heartbreak! 

[SenorGato]

6 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

It should be a red flag for suitors like us. With that said, these comments will probably irk Cousins and drive him further away from resigning. Look for him to be a Denver Bronco. They are set up for success with a decent QB under center, albeit, an older version of the team but very similar to the 2013 team that got Manning in FA and just plugged and played him.

One red flag isn’t enough. That might have been the single most damning thing I have never heard about another person.

Have to agree with your other point too - the Broncos are among the teams *more prepared* than the Jets to land a QB. With most of that team from 4 years ago still there they will recapture the magic. The Jets? Where is their team from 4 years ago? As usual the Jets show up to a gunfight with a knife! 

[Untouchable]

42 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Cousins is not why this team is 7-9.

I agree with the general "Is Cousins worth 30 million a year" sentiment.

But Gruden the Younger is a chucklehead, and his first post-Cousins year would likely be his last as a Head Coach in the NFL.

Yep

I know you live in VA just as I, fish.

I watch on average 10-12 Redskins games every year. Cousins had to deal with 8 different starting OL combinations this year, Jordan Reed his top playmaker in the passing game missing the majority of the season, etc.

And he still posted a 4,000 yard season with damn near 30 TD’s and completed 65% of his passes.

Why everyone acts like this guy is a scrub is beyond me. He’s a borderline Top 10 QB just hitting the prime of his career. 

If Washington is dumb enough to let him walk...jump on him.

[nycdan]

11 minutes ago, SenorGato said:

Stats?

The thing about the QB position and the Jets is that they do not need stats. Stats do not win you football games. Cousin’s own coach called his heart, will, fire, and it right out and said this guy cannot win you more than 7 games. That is his own coach! 

So what happens if you give him all the cap space for all eternity like he demands? He throws some meaningless TDs? Yards? Complete alot of passes at a high rate? Jets do not need that, they need a QB that knows how to WIN. 

Maybe.  Or maybe Gruden is fighting for his own job and willing to shift responsibility for the disappointing season wherever he can.  The defense played a big part in the lack of success and that much at least isn't on Cousins.  

I'm not saying Cousins is a guy who can carry a team to a championship like Brady, Brees or Rodgers, but he's about as good as almost anyone else in the league right now and with enough talent around him (which he definitely did not have in WAS), he can be more than enough to close the deal.  Think if we had present-day Cousins on the 2010/2011 teams.  Given what we've watched at the position the past decade, I would take it in a heartbeat and focus on cleaning up the OL, RB, Edge and CB positions.  Yes, I'd be excited about getting a rookie QB in the first round, and am fine if that's the way it plays out, but I can see the potential of bringing in Cousins and grabbing McGlinchey or Barkley or Chubb in the first round also.

[Patriot Killa]

5 minutes ago, SenorGato said:

One red flag isn’t enough. That might have been the single most damning thing I have never heard someone say about another person.

Have to agree with your other point too - the Broncos are among the teams *more prepared* than the Jets to land a QB. With most of that team from 4 years ago still there they will recapture the magic. The Jets? Where is their team from 4 years ago? As usual the Jets come to a gunfight with a knife! 

Agreed. I am just not willing to shell out half our cap to one player just because we have it like, that this year. Noooo way. I know everyone here just wants to see success as fast as possible but it’s not going to happen the way people want it to. People are expecting to sign him and he give us 5/6 years of 5,000 yard QB play. We need to factor in systems fits. He has never played outside of Washington. What will he look like? He has been a 8-8, 7-9 middling QB most of his career. People will say the Redskins are worse than us...yet we are the guys with 5 wins and they are the ones with 7. People will then say look at our QB play and I would counter Josh McCown threw 67% this year. We aren’t as good as we think we are and we aren’t as bad as we think we are..but we aren’t doing ourselves any favors handing him half our cap space. There are so many different routes that can lead us out of this mess. I understand a lot of guys are scared we can’t develop a QB and that’s why they want to see an “established” guy. But how “established” is 8-8 2016 record and a 7-9 2017 record. He threw two picks to a broken Giants D with an interim coach running the show. We will have to develop a guy as SOME point in our damned future if we EVER want to be anything more than what we are now. Do that. Take every shot possible. Take the best shot possible. Don’t be scared and try to get it the cheap way..which is ironically the super expensive way.?