New York Jets prepared to fully guarantee deal for Kirk Cousins (Rumor)

The New York Jets have never been known as a trailblazing franchise, but Kirk Cousins could be changing that.

It’s no secret that NFL players don’t get fully guaranteed contracts. But the New York Jets are supposedly willing to make that fact obsolete for Kirk Cousins, according to a report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

With Cousins rocketing toward the open market (efforts by his current team to conjure up a way to trade him notwithstanding), the question becomes whether the next contract he signs will be fully guaranteed, for the full duration of its four, five, or six years.

One team already is being pegged in league circles as having the willingness to do it: The Jets. If the Jets will do it, other suitors for Cousins may have no choice but to follow suit.

Cousins, 29, is the rare battle-tested quarterback hitting the open market while still in the prime of his career. Since taking over as Washington’s full-time starter in 2015, he’s been among the NFL’s elite signal-callers.

While Cousins would undoubtedly be worth breaking the bank for given the team’s quarterback situation, the decision of where he plays in 2018 will ultimately be his to make. Aside from the allure of playing in the biggest media market in the world, what do the Jets really have to offer a franchise quarterback?

Their receiving corps is shaky, especially with Robby Anderson‘s uncertain future. In fact, Gang Green’s most explosive receiver after Anderson—tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins—is a free agent himself and anything but a lock to return. The offensive line? Mediocre. Elijah McGuire and Bilal Powell are fine running backs, but neither one is a stud.

With multiple teams expected to pursue Cousins once he becomes a free agent—a list that includes the Jets’ AFC East rival Buffalo Bills and John Elway’s Denver Broncos, among others—fully guaranteeing Cousins’ deal may be the only way the Jets can get an edge over their competition.