Thanks to the blockbuster trade of QB Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins, Kirk Cousins is now available. But is he worth it for the Cleveland Browns?
By now, this is probably the 1,000th blog you have read by now about Cousins and the possibility of him coming to the Cleveland Browns. However, thanks to the stench of a 1-31 mark over two seasons, Cleveland may likely have to break the bank and back up the proverbial U-Haul just to even get the former 2012 fourth-round pick out of Michigan State to even think about coming to The Factory of Sadness.
Since taking over at the starting quarterback in our nation’s capital, Cousins has quickly emerged into one of the NFL’s top signal-callers in passing for over 13,000 yards (13,176), thrown 81 touchdowns and averaged a QB passer rating of 97.5.
All great numbers in helping lead Washington from also-ran to relevancy, but is he worth being paid and mentioned among the NFL’s elite?
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger all either have rings and have long been associated with winning.
Cousins for all he has down down in D.C. just isn’t on that same kind of level, and yet teams are willing to overpay for him? Cleveland has no choice due to their 0-16 season and being the perennial punching bag/sparring partner.
Let’s be real. Cleveland had no real shot at getting Alex Smith without having to fork over either a first and or high second, plus a high 2019 pick. Again, having a 1-31 albatross and the stench of being a loser, doesn’t exactly give you much leverage in negotiations.
And since we are talking about Cleveland and free agent quarterbacks, anyone care to bring up the last few times they signed a marquee QB? Do the names of Browns Free Agent QB Flops Of Years Past such Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme ring a proverbial bell?
I’m not saying that Cleveland not sign Cousins, but he isn’t worth blowing up half of the Browns $100 million salary cap either.
Cleveland needs a big-name QB to help get this franchise back on the winning track, and Cleveland will have to contend with the likes of Denver, Jacksonville, New York Jets and Minnesota for his services.
While the Browns couldn’t beat any of the aforementioned teams on the field, they could surely score their biggest win in recent memory in beating them off of it in landing perhaps the biggest Moby Dick-sized free agent fish in Cousins.