DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Kirk Cousins, we all are already

Denver has nearly $27 million in cap space going into the off-season. Demaryius Thomas has an opt out that the the team is expected to exercise that will save them a little over $12 million. Cutting or trading Aqib Talib will save them $10 million. That gives them $49 million in cap space right there. Cutting C.J. Anderson gives them another $4.5 million and Domata Peko being cut another $3.2 million.

How much better is Kirk Cousins than rookie year Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold? How much higher are their ceilings than what Kirk Cousins is?

Do you understand why I don't post to often??? People around here believe anything and everything they hear even if it's from some dunk wino who lives in an ally. It's just disgusting.

Has a team ever botched a situation with a QB worse than Washington did with "Kurt" Cousins?

And who is the #1 WR when they opt out on Thomas? Sanders had a horrible year, is hardly ever healthy,is on the wrong side of 30 and is now under investigation for sexual assault. Is Cousins going to be sold on throwing the ball to Bennie Fowler? I don't think cutting their best rusher is going to go over any better. Also what about the o-line? Will Cousins be happy with a line that's going to have him running for his life on every play or are the Broncos going to have to promise an upgrade there too? Yeah they can make some cuts, but can they sell a 5-11 team to Cousins with the cuts they have to make?

I don't know about all that. I just know that they can have enough cap space if they want to sign Cousins. They are rumored to be the favorite right now (whatever that means).

If I was Cousins I'd probably sign with the Vikings (although they have to re-sign Anthony Barr and Stefon Diggs soon).

Hey give them some credit! They managed to trade away a pick and a good young player for an older QB that isn't as good and signed him to a contract that gives him more money than they ever offered Cousins.

Super Bowl bound baby!

Yeah, since the Jags don't seem interested, the Vikings would be my pick if I were Cousins.

The Jags are basically out of the market because Blake Bortles got injured, meaning his contract becomes fully guaranteed when the new league year starts. And they knew about the injury before the exercised the option. They're basically locked into Bortles at $18 million for 2018.

That might work out better for them in the end anyway. They can draft a QB and sit him behind Bortles this year and use their cap money and picks to solidify o-line and WR.

If they end up with Lamar Jackson. . .

BREAKING: Colin Cowherd Claims Broncos Are Close To A Deal With Kirk Cousins
By Mitchell Renz January 31, 2018
Follow Chat Sports
With the Washington Redskins trading for Alex Smith, the Kirk Cousins Era in Washington is over. Despite NFL free agency not set to start for several weeks, Colin Cowherd claims that the Denver Broncos and quarterback Kirk Cousins are close to a deal.

"This is singularly sourced from somebody I trust … It’s necessarily breaking," Cowherd said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd today. "It’s broken, not breaking. Kirk Cousins very likely signs with Denver. And they are very close to a deal. It’s fractured news, it’s not breaking news because I don’t have it confirmed. Is that fair to do? I’m telling everyone right now, I’m working big J journalism here. So if you hear it, I don’t want any credit if I’m right I’m not one of these beat reporters who gets all in a tizzy. I don’t want the blame if I’m wrong. Somebody else I trust said 'Kirk Cousins and Denver, they are working on a deal.'"

RELATED: 6 teams that could sign Kirk Cousins (and the vegas odds)
Cousins has called Washington home for the past six seasons and played under the Redskins' franchise tag the last two years. Cousins has averaged 67% completion, 4,392 yards, 27 TDs, and 12 INTs the past three years. He has also been sneaky good with his legs, rushing for 13 touchdowns the last three years.

There's one major issue with Cowherd's claim: any discussion with Cousins would be tampering. Cousins will be a free agent, but is still under contract with the Redskins. Clubs are not permitted to have contact with players or their agents until March 12th, two days before the new league year. Les Shapiro, a Denver-based radio host, says a Broncos executive told him "it's news to us" about any Cousins and Broncos discussion.

The Broncos spent a first round pick on Paxton Lynch just two years ago, but he has not developed in the way Denver hoped. General manager John Elway has pulled the trigger on a quarterback in the past, adding Peyton Manning. The Broncos have $24.7 million in cap space in 2018, which is the 17th most in the NFL. They can clear out more by cutting players like CB Aqib Talib.

This is a developing story, so refresh the page for
updates.

https://www.chatsports.com/denver-bronco...k-cousins-37237

My message to Cousins and his agent would be this.

Whatever deal you get from another team that you consider the best offer, we will add 4 mil a year to the guaranteed money and match in every way.

I would also give him very direct input on who we draft at #1 this year. "Here are the 3 players we will select, who do you want to support you?"

I would also let him know we won't draft a QB inside the first 3 rounds unless someone gets hurt for the first 3 years of his contract. That tells him we are committed to him.

I would give him the ability to void a trade to a team he didn't like, up to 20 teams, and we couldn't do that before his last contract year. In other words, give me a list of 12 teams you would consider.


I'd get Joe T....or at least hope I could, to tell him he would sign up for a 2 year extension to the contract, and see where it goes from there. QB's like HOF LT's on their side.

He could be there, but Pit picks right before they do.

Anybody who pretends these teams don't tamper with players before the "legal tampering" period are kidding themselves. We just don't normally hear about it this early in the off-season.

With that said, if I am Washington, I am filing tampering charges against the Broncos.

I think any team can.

I believe tampering charges can void any signing and cause an Agent to be denied recognition by the league. I know that is an extreme case, but this is out on the wire before the Super Bowl and goes far beyond cocktail party chat. I'm pretty sure the league will look into this...

I don't know about that (I literally don't know). I do know that technically Kirk Cousins is still an employee of Washington.

Trade is the only way this can work. Denver offers up something to Washington to trade for Cousins. To make this work, obviously Denver needs to be able to negotiate with Cousins now to agree to contract terms. Of course nothing can be official until the new league year.

I suspect what will happen is that Washington will tag Cousins. The agreement will specifically state Cousins cannot sign it, but he's still then Washington's "property". Then the trade can be executed, as can Denver/Cousin's agreement.

If this happens, I'm guessing the league will try to put something in the next CBA to avoid situations like this from happening again, kind of like the poison pill from a while back.

This can only be happening with Washington's involvement. While they may not admit it, they're fully aware of what is happening.

I'm betting Washington is the team that leaked it out. They just made a huge investment in Alex Smith and are now holding a hot potato in Cousins.

Denver would want to stay quiet about it. They don't want their price to go up. Washington wants as many suitors for him as they can get.

I think that's probably what's happening. Washington has worked out a trade with Denver, and now Denver is just hammering out a long-term contract with Cousins. Washington would get some compensation out of it, rather than nothing and it's not tampering if they have the permission of the employing team to negotiate.

It's not tampering. Washington has his rights until 3/14 and is free to allow any other teams to talk to him in a trade scenario.

The problem is.. he trade deadline has passed, no trade can be filed until both FA and Trades are allowed, at which time Cousins would be a FA.

What about the trade deadline? That ended a few months ago.

They would Franchise or transition tag him to make the trade and they don't have to decide to do that until they have the trade in place.

SHOW us a LINK to the CBA that says anything like this can happen with a player that is scheduled to be a FA.

There are ways around it. They can negotiate and even announce a trade before 3/14, but it can't be executed until then. The only way that can happen is if Washington tags Cousins. He's technically still part of the Redskins organization at that point and Washington can do what they want with him. At that point, both the trade and his new contract with Denver will be executed.

j/c

the only way we were getting Smith is if we gave up a 2nd rounder and 100 million ... for a 34 year old

the only way we'll get Cousins is for more money than that IMO

j/c:

A lot of drama over very little.

And that's not tampering?

This all reeks of a Crock of BS.

I think the above scenario is unlikely. The more likely scenario is that there is some sort of collusion going on or the news is not real (<- most likely).

yep...cousins just won't be coming this way. nor the vikings either.

who else is out there?

Josh McCown

I've been thinking the same thing and I wouldn't mind it at all. This coming from someone who hated it the first time we got him. The way his teammates always gush about the guy makes me love him.

It is not tampering. Washington owns his rights.

If this is the case, then it is definitely skirting the system, but I'm not sure there's anything wrong with it CBA-wise. If it is the case, then it's just a current version of the poison pill.

As an organization, we were morons to cut him. Imagine how much Kiser might have learned from him.

Washington would have to give the Broncos permission, which I'm guessing we would know about.

Not sure what you mean. Care to explain?

Kirk Cousins, Redskins
Cousins is primed to hit free agency following a blockbuster deal in which the Redskins agreed to trade for Alex Smith, giving them no reason to keep Cousins an additional season. While Washington in theory could apply the tag on Cousins, it would cost nearly $34.5 million, which makes no sense with another QB under contract.

Cousins in 2018 will be the hottest free agent since Ndamukong Suh and the best free-agent QB since Peyton Manning. His market value should be anywhere between $27.5 million and $29 million per year.

Cousins might have been hurt by the 49ers’ trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, as they were expected to be hot for Cousins, but there should be no shortage of interested teams. It’s rare that quarterbacks are available in free agency, and even more rare that a QB who is available is considered an above-average player.

The Cardinals, Jaguars, Browns, Jets, Bills and Dolphins all make sense as teams that could be interested in Cousins. The more teams get involved, the more expensive his price tag will be.

Alex Smith, Chiefs
The Chiefs have agreed to trade Smith to the Redskins at the start of the league year. Washington reportedly has agreed to a four-year extension with Smith worth $23.5 million per season and slightly over $70 million in guarantees.

The contract is in line with the current market and will slot Smith slightly above Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers, all of whom signed new contracts in their mid-30s a few years ago.

The trade can't be executed until the start of the 2018 league year (March 14), so it will not be official until then.

Tyrod Taylor, Bills
As long as his legs hold up, Taylor likely will have a long journeyman career in the NFL. He’s electric at times and below-average at others.

Taylor has an $18 million cap figure, which is fair, but the Bills are just as likely to bench him as they are to start him, so keeping him on the roster at that price seems foolish. The Bills would pick up $9.4 million if they cut him. Taylor has a $6 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year, so the Bills need to make a quick decision.

Projecting a salary for Taylor is hard, because the style he plays is not everybody’s cup of tea. A player like Taylor generally would earn around $15 million per season, but his salary could be lower with incentives that can max it out higher. This is probably the price range in which a team like the Broncos would get involved in chasing a quarterback.

IYER: Exploring Bills' best non-Tyrod Taylor options for 2018, beyond

Eli Manning, Giants
Manning in 2017 went through arguably the worst year of his career. His coach and general manager, both of whom later would lose their jobs, benched Manning out of nowhere for Geno Smith. The Giants are entering a rebuilding phase and have the second pick in the draft, so Manning’s time with the Giants, if it isn’t over already, is going to last only one more season.

Releasing Manning would save the Giants $9.8 million on the salary cap, so it makes sense financially. If they do decide to release him, expect them to do so early, with a big press conference similar to what Peyton Manning got with his Colts send-off. Eli Manning has a no-trade clause, so it makes little sense for New York to drag this on.



Manning if released would find a home on a team that considers itself a contender, with Denver and Jacksonville being the teams that make the most sense. The Vikings also could be an option if they go in a different direction. A bad team should not even consider Manning given his age and declining play.

Salary-wise, Manning should have a base in the $17 million range. He would need to be incentivized to reach $20 million.

Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers
Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers at the deadline and got his chance to shine when an injury allowed him to get into the lineup. His undefeated run as starter to end the season likely upped his asking price by millions. The 49ers went from being a punching bag for most of the year to one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and the only difference was the quarterback.

It’s hard to envision a scenario in which the 49ers would give up a second-round pick for a player and then let him walk in free agency. And the market for Garoppolo is questionable — the Patriots were unable to trade him for a first-round pick earlier in the year, and so many teams have been burned on backup-type players that the market is generally more limited. Had Garoppolo not played those last few games, he probably would have been looking at a contract somewhere between $15 million and $18 million per season. Now he should be asking for $25 million.

MORE: 49ers can wait on Garoppolo deal

The 49ers, generally risk-averse with their contracts, have never signed such a deal. While a fair compromise might be $22 million with massive playoff escalators, a similar structure to what they used with Colin Kaepernick’s deal, the odds are in favor of the use of one of the tags.

The two numbers are close (around $21 million and $23 million), but there is almost no offer Garoppolo could receive that the 49ers could not match. So the transition tag might be the best move, especially if the 49ers think the long game is multiple tags.

Drew Brees, Saints
Brees’ contract will void the day before free agency, and the Saints can’t use the franchise tag on him. There is also a massive salary cap penalty when his contract voids (an additional $12 million), so it’s imperative that the Saints get a contract for Brees done soon.

Though the Saints’ season had a disappointing ending, overall, it was a major win for the front office. After years of struggles, New Orleans looked like a real contender thanks mostly to the young players it grabbed in the draft. That is far more sustainable than having a few older veterans find the fountain of youth in the same year, and it should make Brees more willing to stay rather than chase a title elsewhere.

Brees, even at age 39, probably would score gold in free agency, but he’ll probably take a discount to remain in New Orleans and give the Saints more money to improve the team. Our guess is three years around $25 million per year with all of the contract having the ability to be guaranteed.



Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings
The 2017 season was crazy for the Vikings’ quarterbacks, and all three will be free agents. Keenum had the season of a lifetime until the clock struck midnight in Philadelphia during the NFC championship game. Bradford looked great for one game before his injury bug caught up to him again. Bridgewater returned to the field after a devastating knee injury more than a year ago.

Of the three, Keenum probably stands to make the most money in free agency. He is not a highly regarded player, but after this season, he should earn a contract similar to what Mike Glennon got in Chicago, around $15 million per season.

Keenum could force the Vikings’ hand and hope they use the transition tag on him, which would be worth more to him than the Glennon-style contract, especially when you consider he was just four bad quarters away from possibly being a $20 million-per-year player.

MORE: Browns' QB options for 2018

Bradford probably lost the most money this season with his injury. Had he been in Keenum’s position and led the Vikings deep into the playoffs, Bradford would have gotten a $25 million extension. Now he probably won’t reach $10 million.

Bradford has always been a risk, and this year’s injury was one nobody could even pinpoint as to when and why it happened. It’s possible he would be willing to be a backup for $8 million next year in Minnesota, knowing that if Keenum implodes, he’ll get another chance.

Bridgewater probably is the least likely to be offered a contract to return to the Vikings, unless the other two turn down offers. Minnesota deactivated Bridgewater in the playoffs, which shows the team views him as a third-stringer.

Bridgewater is a former first-rounder, and those players always have value. It would not be surprising to see him sign elsewhere in the $6 million range with upside for more based on performance. He would be a nice stopgap for teams like the Jets and Browns.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/nfl...ml1kpnffo262fif