Kirk Cousins is in Minnesota, and the Jets should be happy about it.
Yes, I have changed my mind on that deal. A price tag of a guaranteed $84 million did it.
Cousins likely would have been a Jet if the price tag was in the range of $60. And apparently due to sources, the Jets would have sealed the deal for the price.
But $84 million isn’t worth it. Sure, Cousins would have been a nice fit for probably five years, but that salary isn’t relative for a quarterback who hasn’t won a playoff game. Now, Cousins will need to bring the Vikings to a minimum of the NFC Championship game to justify his presence.
So, what do the Jets do now? They made a solid move by bringing back Josh McCown, who is the ultimate insurance policy. McCown may not produce the same numbers as he did last year, but he provides stability for the near future.
That future includes Teddy Bridgewater and one of the Fab Four as the team’s number six draft pick in the draft.
Bridgewater is an interesting case. The Jets must believe that he will regain his form before a knee injury nearly ended his career before the 2016 season. He is mobile and threw for over 3,000 yards in 2015. But, overall, Bridgewater’s numbers are average and he reportedly signed a one-year, $5 million deal that can pay him up to $15 million.
With McCown back for one-year at 10 million along with a single-year for Bridgewater, the Jets must believe they will land their next franchise quarterback in the draft.
This is where Wyoming’s Josh Allen will fit the bill.
With the first overall pick, Cleveland appears to be leaning toward drafting Penn State’s Saquon Barkley to sew up their running back needs even though they signed Carlos Hyde. They have former Bills quarterback already in the fold and can still draft either USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA’s Josh Rosen with the fourth pick.
Recent rumblings have the Giants possibly considering drafting an offensive lineman with the second pick or they will revert to Barkley is he is there. There are also some whispers that indicate they will stick to their initial plan on drafting Rosen if he is there.
This should pave the way for the Jets to draft Allen. Even though there have been accuracy issues raised about him, Allen looks like the solid pick with his size, arm strength, and his ability to deal with cold weather.
Don’t worry. He isn’t another Christian Hackenberg, who should be shown the exit from the Florham Park training facility soon along with Bryce Petty. Those experiments are over.
Goodbye Cousins, hello Allen.
The Jets did and will make the right moves to help give them the stability at quarterback since a strong armed quarterback from Alabama was drafted in 1965.