Lammey: Broncos need more than just money to land Kirk Cousins
Jan 31, 2018, 4:00 AM | Updated: 11:35 am
The Denver Broncos are looking for a franchise quarterback, and with reports that the Kansas City Chiefs will trade Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, one of the top free agent targets, Kirk Cousins, will likely be available. He’s set to be a free agent in March, and the Broncos are a team many are speculating could land him.
He’s played each of the last two years on the franchise tag, but Cousins has not been able to get the long-term deal that he desires. Washington could have franchise tagged Cousins for a third consecutive year (and still can), but it would have come with a one-year, fully guaranteed price of $34.5 million.
That number would make him the highest paid quarterback in terms of average annual salary, but if Cousins signed a long-term deal with a new team that number could still rank at the top of the charts.
In a quarterback-desperate league, Cousins is looking at a contract that could pay him an average of $30 million per year.
Cousins was going around radio row at Super Bowl 52 in Minnesota on Tuesday, and he had some revealing comments in an interview with Pro Football Talk Live.
“Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No,” Cousins said. “It is 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.”
Winning hasn’t been a habit for the Broncos in recent years.
Since winning Super Bowl 50 in January of 2016, the Broncos have missed the playoffs each of the last two years. They need to get back on track, and 2018 could be a jumpstart for that turnaround.
In order to get things headed in the right direction, the Broncos need to find a true franchise quarterback. That could be Cousins, either added via trade or free agency if he hits the open market.
Football is the ultimate team game, and signing Cousins alone isn’t going to be the complete answer. With such a hefty expected price tag, any team that signs Cousins may not be able to afford much more to put around him. It’s a catch-22 situation that is going to be difficult for teams like the Broncos to navigate.
National media members I’m talking to here at the Super Bowl believe the Broncos are closer to competing than some think. Denver has a reputation as a winning franchise, and many reporters believe that Broncos general manager John Elway will do what it takes to get his team back in the championship mix as quickly as possible.
In 2017, eight teams made the playoffs that missed the postseason the previous year. There is a good chance the Broncos could be one of the teams that makes a similar jump in 2018.
Many fans are worried about the price tag for Cousins, and for good reason, but there are more important things to the veteran quarterback than just the size of his paycheck.
