NFL News: Teams Likely To Land Deal With Kirk Cousins Now Down To Four
Kirk Cousins is one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the National Football League, especially since he is about to become a free agent this month. Now, according to reports, the number of teams expected to bid on Cousins have been narrowed down to four.
ESPN's NFL insider, Adam Schefter, shared over the weekend: "The final four teams expected to be vying for free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins are the Broncos, Cardinals, Jets and Vikings, per league sources."
In an ESPN report published over the weekend, the said teams were purportedly coming up with their own plans on how to persuade Cousins to join them. However, most of the mentioned organizations were reportedly considering offering short-term contracts to the player that would span three years at best.
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Meanwhile, Cousins is reportedly not setting a very strict requirement when it comes to the manners of payouts. ESPN suggested that this could be because the QB had actually earned well enough in the past two seasons when he played with the Washington Redskins' franchise tag attached to him.
Cousins was the Redskins' fourth round draft pick in 2012 but has since emerged as one of the best QBs in the league especially after he assumed the main position in 2015. From about 1,700 yards in season 2014, his new responsibility the following year allowed him to contribute more than double that number the following year.
Since Cousins became the main QB for the Redskins, his yards statistics has not gone below the 4,000 mark. In the previous season alone, he ran 4,093 yards. He also scored 27 touchdowns and completed 64.3 percent of his passes.
In the past few weeks, there have been speculations on whether the Redskins would use their franchise tag again on Cousins. However, there are reports that suggest that if the team does, it might be a way to cut a better trade deal involving the player, though this rumored plan has loopholes. Cousins reserves the right to refuse signing a franchise tag, and as the Washington Post also pointed out, the player can also file a complaint with the NFL citing wrongful use of the franchise tag.
As seen in the NFL's official 2018 schedule, teams will be allowed to negotiate with certified representatives of would-be Unrestricted Free Agents from March 12-14. Only players with contracts expiring on March 14 at 4 p.m. EST can be pursued at this time.
