The New York Jets are benefiting tremendously thanks to the eventual “no” he and his team answered to the organization during the NFL free agency period. Here are the seven blessings.
The football gods deserve praise. They deserve many thanks from a particular fanbase in Northern New Jersey.
The grizzled, intelligent, diehard gridiron gods that look down upon us from a football heaven so magnificently drenched in hall of fame talent and old-school stadium memorabilia (such as Jim Brown’s famed jockstrap and Joe Namath’s fabulous mink coat) have worked miracles for fans of the New York Jets as of late. Just when we thought the organization was heading down one troubling path, circumstance shifted the landscape.
Mike Maccagnan and the suits in that front office wanted Kirk Cousins. As the clear-cut Plan A, the Jets were ready to dish out $30 million a season to acquire a good quarterback.
Instead, Cousins chose the mainstream narrative equaling the idea that the Minnesota Vikings are the more “championship-ready” team. After all, those purple boys are coming off an NFC Championship Game appearance and seem to be a quarterback away.
But this is the NFL. Fates and seasons turn on a dime and rarely can one team be so heavily favored over another in terms of championship-readiness unless they come equipped with a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers—a true difference-maker at the most important position in sports and the only employes who deserve nearly 20 percent of a team’s total payroll.
But no matter, we’re suddenly off topic. Cousins is now in Minny and the Jets, thankfully, find themselves with Sam Darnold.
It’s funny. Recent word has come to support the idea that Maccagnan and his supporting cast were in love with two quarterbacks in the rookie pool over the last few seasons. It was mentioned in Tommy Breer’s magnificent piece via Sports Illustrated earlier in the week.
One was Marcus Mariota. The other was Jared Goff. In both spots, the Jets had nowhere near the ammunition or draft position to snag either. They would have had to purge the farm.
No Mariota. No Goff. No Cousins. Even no Baker Mayfield, the other quarterback who’d reportedly caught the Jets eye. All four quarterbacks were loved by the Jets. All four failed to come to fruition. Now, with Darnold in the fold, I think many are admitting a bit of glorious luck has landed at the Jets doorstep in Florham Park, New Jersey.
In any event, this one’s about Cousins and that thankful situation playing out the way it did. The Jets are currently benefiting in many ways without the veteran that many folks just couldn’t see (or didn’t want to see) while the hunt for Kirk was ongoing.
Here are the seven blessings of a New York Jets football team without Kirk Cousins:
7. No Neil O'Donnell Comparisons
First and foremost, thank those aforementioned football gods no Neil O’Donnell comparisons will be flying around MetLife Stadium this coming season.
O’Donnell was a Jets employee for just two seasons. The 1996 regime led by Rich Kotite as the de facto general manager, O’Donnell was signed to a massive five-year, $25 million deal that included a cool $7 million signing bonus. While $5 million a year is nothing on today’s terms, it was a massive free-agent contract two decades ago. (It’s funny: it’s about the same money Darnold and top 10 picks garner these days.)
Of course, we know what happened.
Coming off a Super Bowl appearance in which Dallas Cowboys corner Larry Brown earned the distinction as O’Donnell’s favorite target, the former Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller started just six games for the green and white, losing all six en route to a team 0-16 record.
It’s that veteran QB big-money signing that resembles what Kirk Cousins is in Minny and would have been with the Jets.
It’s tough to argue the two quarterbacks are similar in nature. O’Donnell wasn’t much of a stat-gobbler. He was a game-manager who allowed his defense and running game to do its thing. Cousins is a stat monster who never sleeps.
However, the two eras are completely contrasting. By the time O’Donnell signed with the Jets, he had played five seasons in Pittsburgh while making the Pro Bowl once. Cousins has played six seasons in Washington while making the Pro Bowl once.
6. The Money
Don’t be confused here. The money and the salary cap ramifications are two completely different things.
If no salary cap existed, it wouldn’t matter how much money any player rakes in (so long as there’s no budget restriction). The NFL isn’t played that way—at least, not anymore.
There is no argument in the world that can properly advance the notion that Kirk Cousins is worth $30 million on an annual basis.
5. Long-Term Promise
Cousins, 29, isn’t a young buck. Worse yet, he and his financial team doubled-down on its NFL investment.
Cousins gambled on himself while playing through two consecutive franchise tags. He did this while rejecting lesser offers along the way.
His camp doubled down that notion by not signing a long-term deal. Instead, his Vikings deal is only a three-year pact.
This means he’ll become a free agent again when he’s 32 and still at the edge of his prime in the league.
What football organization wants to live with such uncertainty surrounded by such a large bulk of promised payroll? It only works of the player in question is a true and legitimate superstar who can win regardless of the talent (i.e. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers).
4. The Chance of a True Jets Era
What generational-era chances live if Cousins is only promised three years with the Jets? By going with the solid veteran instead of a drafted rook, the chance of defining a true and generational era is undermined.
Sam Darnold is 20 freaking years old.
3. The Age, Future
Yeah, that’s right, Sam Darnold is 20 freaking years old. The kid can’t even legally drink yet. (I’m sure he’s never taken a sip of alcohol in his life due to the fact it’s illegal, so … 21 is on the horizon, young Sam.)
Twenty-nine (Cousins) versus 20 (Darnold) is a major determining factor en route to how the depth chart is built. If it’s Cousins at the QB spot, flexibility must factor in. Sacrifice must remain in the back of the mind pertaining to other spots on the depth chart.
Since it’s Darnold in the fold, a fresh, longer process can be taken in filling out every crucial hole for the future feels and remains endless.
2. The Higher Ceiling
We’ve watched Kirk Cousins for six seasons now. If you think he’s suddenly going to live up to the best quarterback in the league (based on his pay), you’re that eternal optimist who also believes Darnold will take home the 2018 NFL MVP.
We’ve watched him. We know what he is. We understand his ceiling.
He’s a solid QB. He’s, perhaps, a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.
Darnold, on the other hand, is a blank slate. His ceiling is unknown and filled with giddy enthusiasm. The kid could turn out to be Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. He is that good.
1. The Salary Cap Freedom=Better Overall Team
In getting back to the money part of it, no, Kirk Cousins is nowhere near worth $30 million a year. Save for the excuse-makers who ride the “quarterback money should go up” train, it makes no sense.
The contracts recently dished out to Cousins and Matt Ryan, for example, are far exceeding regularly structured inclines at the most important position in sports. It’s making many teams take the tact of staying away from such commitments while riding inexpensive youngsters.
The teams with the higher QB cap hit usually perform worse.
2017 QB Cap Hits:
- Joe Flacco, Ravens: $24.55M
- Carson Palmer, Cardinals: $24.1M
- Kirk Cousins, Redskins: $23.9M
- Matt Ryan, Falcons: $23.75M
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers: $20.3M
- Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins: $20.3M
- Cam Newton, Panthers: $20.2M
- Eli Manning, Giants: $20.7M
- Andrew Luck, Colts: $19.4M
- Drew Brees, Saints: $19M
Only the three NFC South teams on the list qualified for the tournament a year ago.
Furthermore, Super Bowl champions are usually derived from the rosters that don’t commit so much money to a sole QB.
Super Bowl Champion QB Cap Hit Percentages:
- 2017: Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, $7.7M: 2 percent of the $167M cap
- 2016: Tom Brady, $13.7M: 9 percent of the $155.27M cap
- 2015: Peyton Manning, $17.5M: 12 percent of the $144.28M cap
- 2014: Tom Brady, $14.8M: 11 percent of the $133M cap
- 2013: Russell Wilson, $681K: .05 percent of the $123M cap
- 2012: Joe Flacco, $8M: 6.6 percent of the $120.6M cap
- 2011: Eli Manning, $14.1M: 11.75 percent of the $120M cap
Cousins’ massive percentage of the payroll reflects poorly when it comes to the numbers. If anything, the Russell Wilson-Seattle Seahawks model is the wave of the future (until QB money starts to slide back to normalcy).
NFL Draft money isn’t what it used to be. Some teams would have to move out of a certain slot simply due to the fact they couldn’t afford a certain rookie’s demanding salary. Other teams took advantage and forced trades would come about.
Sam Bradford’s draft was the last free-market rookie negotiation. Since, each rookie’s slot is already set, making everything smoother and more uniform.
Sam Darnold hasn’t signed as of yet. It’ll look something like this once it’s all said and done:
- 4 years
- $30 million in total
- $20 million signing bonus
- Average cap hit of $5M-$8M (starting at $5M and change and escalating $1M every year afterward).
Should Darnold turn out every bit as good as Cousins (if not better), New York suddenly owns a cheap star quarterback who’s only eating up around three percent of the cap as opposed to Cousins’ 20. This is a drastic difference pertaining to the 53-man depth chart—better, deeper and much more flexibility as a single mistake won’t bring the entire house down.
Final Thoughts
Lucky? Absolutely.
This regime desperately wanted Kirk Cousins (among other names like Baker Mayfield and the extremely suspect Marcus Mariota). But hey, it doesn’t matter how you get there so long as you do.
The New York Jets ended up in perfect bliss: equipped with a cheap stud rookie quarterback named Sam Darnold with a ton of cap space heading into the 2019 NFL offseason.
The thing left to do is develop the kid and make sure he turns out as a top 10 NFL quarterback.