Clough: Kirk Cousins makes the Broncos a top 15-10 team in the NFL
Dec 20, 2017, 12:00 AM | Updated: 9:41 am
If the Denver Broncos want to turn things around as quickly as possible, Sandy Clough said Tuesday that answer could be Kirk Cousins under center starting in 2018.
“It’s not about saving money. It’s about winning again as quickly as possible,” Clough said on Tuesday. “Within the next two, at most the next three years, if the Broncos aren’t challenging for AFC West honors, aren’t back in the playoff picture, right in the middle of it, not on the fringes of it, not well outside it, they have failed.”
And with Cousins as the signal caller, Clough said the Broncos would quickly become a top 15 team in the NFL — top 10 if he’s having a career year.
“Hey, after the first month, the Broncos were ranked by everybody as a top 10 team, even by some as a top 5 team, this year,” Clough said. “Sure, it was fool’s gold. Sure, people were wrong.”
Cousins, who is set to be a free agent this coming season, has started every game for the Washington Redskins the past three seasons, completing 65.9 percent of his passes during his career for 96 touchdowns and 15,749 yards on just 51 interceptions.
However, the prospect of Cousins heading west could be tricky. Washington could franchise tag him for a third-consecutive season or sign him up long term.
And should the sixth-year pro hit the free agent market, his price tag could be prohibitive, one of the reasons “Stokley & Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley would like another option at quarterback for the Broncos next season.
“If you pay all this money to Kirk Cousins, what are you going to have to spend to try to get some quick fixes?” Stokley said. “You’re not going to have a lot of money to go out there and pay some top free agents to come into town and play for Kirk Cousins. So, you’re going to have to do that through the draft.”
However, despite making the case on Tuesday to start Brock Osweiler the remainder of the season, “Schlereth & Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth echoed Clough’s comments, saying the Broncos would win the AFC West with Cousins.
“I think the guy has NFL-caliber, top-notch caliber quarterbacking skills, and you just don’t want to pay him in Washington. I don’t know why,” Schlereth said on Monday.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
