Citing sources familiar with the Broncos’ free agency plans, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports that Kirk Cousins has become an “all-in” target for Denver once free agency opens on March 14.
Sources have told Robinson that the Broncos have examined scenarios to potentially create between $40-$50 million of cap room this offseason to make a run at Cousins.
However, Robinson adds that the Vikings and Jets are the two other significant competitors for Cousins while the Browns could still be an option, depending on how negotiations go at the start of free agency.
Interestingly enough, Robinson says that Cousins could be seeking a shorter deal around three or four years in length with almost fully guaranteed salaries in each season. The benefit for Cousins beyond the high guarantees is that it would allow him to be in position to the market again when he’s either 32 or 33 years old.
Many around the NFL have said that Cousins could end up securing as much as $30 million per year as part of a long-term extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history, but it sounds like he’s open to other contract structures.
The expectation is that Cousins will take his time and meet with multiple teams once free agency opens.
Cousins, 29, is a former fourth-round pick of the Redskins back in 2012. He played out the final year of his four-year, $2,572,688 rookie contract that included a $472,688 signing bonus when Washington elected to use the franchise tag on Cousins that paid him $19.953 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season.
The Redskins franchised him for the second year in a row this last year and he made $23.94 million fully guaranteed for the 2017 season.
In 2017, Cousins has appeared in all 16 games and thrown for 4,093 yards while completing 64.3percent of his passes to go along with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 20 quarterback out of 40 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.
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