The New York Jets desperately need a franchise quarterback, and it sounds like their offseason game plan is very simple: sign Kirk Cousins.
Sources told ESPN’s Rich Cimini the Jets, who evidently want Cousins badly, are willing to pay whatever it takes to sign the free agent quarterback, unless the Washington Redskins decide to tag him for a third straight offseason, which seems unlikely at this point.
The Jets have more than $70 million in cap room, so they certainly have the financial means to make Cousins an enticing offer. But as Cimini notes, they’ll have to convince the 29-year-old he’ll have an opportunity to win with New York. The Jets enjoyed surprising success early in 2017 but ultimately finished 5-11 for the second straight season. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season.
Journeyman quarterback Josh McCown, who turns 39 in July, started 13 games for the Jets this past season but is set to become a free agent, leaving New York with Christian Hackenberg, Bryce Petty and Joel Stave as the team’s returning QBs.
If the Jets don’t sign Cousins, who’s thrown for more than 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in each of the past three seasons, they could use the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on a quarterback, as there are several highly regarded signal-callers available in this year’s class.
