Kirk Cousins - Pro Football Rumors

QB Notes: Cousins, Taylor, Bortles

July 2nd, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Ben Levine

We’ve had several days to recover from Andrew Luck‘s record-breaking contract extension with the Colts. Of course, plenty of pundits are now analyzing how that deal might impact the league’s other quarterbacks.

Let’s take a look at some quarterback-centric notes, and we may get some clarity on who will get paid next…

Luck’s new contract will have little influence over Kirk Cousins‘ potential next contract with the Redskins, writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Rather, the quarterback will likely be operating under the franchise value, which ends up being around $78.36MM over three seasons.
Meanwhile, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News believes Luck’s new deal “only mean[s] good fortune” for Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The writer is convinced that the organization will spend on a franchise QB, although he’s uncertain how much they’ll actually be willing to pay Taylor.
While Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles surely won’t make Andrew Luck-money, Gene Frenette of Jacksonville.com believes the signal-caller could be in line for a contract exceeding $100MM.
Barring some unforeseen circumstances, no quarterback from the 2013 draft will be in line to command a huge payday. However, Florio notes that a handful of 2014 draft picks are in line to get paid, including Bortles, Derek Carr, and Teddy Bridgewater.
Former NFL agent Joel Corry (writing for CBSSports.com) surveys several other quarterbacks who could be impacted by the Luck deal, including Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Matthew Stafford.

NFC Notes: Cards, Abdullah, Redskins, Eagles

July 1st, 2016 at 7:11pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

As their second-round pick approached in the 2015 draft, the Cardinals were in the midst of informing running back Ameer Abdullah over the phone that they were going to take him 55th overall. However, as shown on the new Amazon documentary series “All or Nothing,” the Lions traded a spot ahead of Arizona during the Cardinals’ discussion with Abdullah and stole the ex-Nebraska standout at No. 54 (link via Steven Ruiz of USA Today). With their Abdullah dream dashed, the Cardinals waited to address the position until the third round, selecting ex-Northern Iowa runner David Johnson 86th overall. Johnson emerged as a key member of the Cardinals’ offense as a rookie, totaling 1,038 yards (581 rushing, 457 receiving), averaging 4.6 yards per carry and piling up 12 touchdowns (eight rushing, four receiving). Abdullah, with 780 yards (597 rushing, 183 receiving), 4.2 YPC and three scores (two on the ground, one in the air), wasn’t nearly as successful in 2015.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Cousins, Seahawks

July 1st, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Ronaldo McClain is only the latest Cowboys defender to be slapped with a suspension. Defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was handed a four-game suspension earlier this summer, and defensive end Randy Gregory will also be forced to sit our four games.

Cornerback Brandon Carr understands that it’s on the trio’s teammates to pick up the slack.

“Well, anytime you get a guy going down in your unit, you have to come together even stronger to make up for that slack,” Carr told Zig Fracassi and Phil Savage on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “But Rolando is a guy that’s made a lot of plays for us in the past two years, another dominant presence on the field. So we’re definitely going to miss that. But football’s a game of the next man up, it’s a game of inches. So it’s going to take for all of us to come to training camp focused and next man up, get him ready, get prepared to go out there to battle.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

Mike Jones of the Washington Post wonders if the Redskins and Kirk Cousins will come to an agreement on an extension by the July 15th deadline. The writer notes that the two sides have made little progress, and while the team will make another push closer to training camp, there’s not much optimism that a deal will get done.
The Seahawks have generally held back from handing out extensions to players with more than a year remaining on their contract. However, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times wonders whether the team should rethink that strategy when it comes to defensive lineman Michael Bennett.
ESPN.com’s Nathan Jahnke (Insider subscription required) runs through his list of the NFL’s 10 most overpaid veterans. Giants quarterback Eli Manning leads the list, with Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr, and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson also appearing on the list.

Reactions To Andrew Luck’s Extension

June 29th, 2016 at 6:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Colts owner Jim Irsay said in February that Andrew Luck‘s extension – which he signed Wednesday – would be “shocking.” Now that it’s official, though, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk disagrees, arguing that the only true surprise is that Luck fell short of $25MM per year and accepted $23.3MM annually through 2021. Even though Luck’s contract is now the richest in NFL history, Florio contends that the signal-caller could have held out for more money, perhaps by going year to year under the franchise tag. Instead, as Florio tweets, the soon-to-be 27-year-old settled for a team-friendly pact.

Here’s more on Luck’s deal and what it means for the league:

Dan Graziano of ESPN.com is in lockstep with Florio, noting that Luck’s guaranteed-at-signing total ($44MM) is significantly less than the $60MM Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh received as a free agent in 2015 and adding that pushing $27MM in guarantees into the third and fourth years of the deal carries too much risk for Luck. Although the cap has risen 26.2 percent since Aaron Rodgers signed for $22MM per year in 2013, the top QB salary has gone up by only 5.9 percent, observes Graziano, who adds that Luck’s accord should be a letdown for other passers – including the Redskins’ Kirk Cousins.
Conversely, CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Tandler opines that Luck’s extension likely has Cousins smiling, writing that Cousins’ agent can now use Luck’s deal as a ceiling and Brock Osweiler‘s $18MM AAV as a floor for his franchise-tagged client. Cousins, a fourth-rounder in the 2012 draft (Luck was the No. 1 overall pick that year), will rake in $19.95MM this season if he and the Redskins don’t reach a long-term accord by the July 15 deadline. As of last week, the 27-year-old Cousins and the Redskins hadn’t made progress in contract talks.
Both Luck and the Colts fell well short of expectations during an 8-8 campaign in 2015. After leading the league with 40 touchdown passes in 2014, Luck missed nine games because of injuries and was underwhelming on the field, completing just 55.3 percent of throws on 6.42 yards per attempt and adding 15 TDs against 12 interceptions. Nevertheless, that didn’t faze Irsay, who fully expected to make Luck the highest-paid player in the league. “You look at the total body of work,” he said (via Mike Wells of ESPN). Prior to 2015, Luck started 52 straight games (playoffs included), led the Colts to three consecutive double-digit-win outputs, and threw for 86 scores and nearly 13,000 yards in the regular season.
Luck is now one of five important members of the Colts’ offense under team control through at least 2019, as Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star points out (on Twitter). Left tackle Anthony Castonzo, first-round center Ryan Kelly and tight end Dwayne Allen are all locked up until the end of the 2019 season, while Indy has No. 1 receiver T.Y. Hilton in its grasp through 2020. With a fifth-year option in his contract, Kelly’s deal could also take him through the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.

East Notes: Cousins, Brady, Lombardi, Jets

June 26th, 2016 at 9:58am CST by Rory Parks

The latest reports on contract talks between the Redskins and Kirk Cousins suggested that the two sides may not be reaching a long-term pact prior to the July 15 deadline, and that Cousins may consequently play out the 2016 season on the $19.95MM franchise tender. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB pointed out, Washington could be playing with fire if, as expected, Andrew Luck signs a record-breaking extension with the Colts and Cousins turns in another strong year.

Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com echoes those sentiments. He believes that, as we are still nearly three weeks away from July 15, both player and team are exercising the appropriate amount of patience and are right to not rush into a deal, but he does note that the Redskins have to be worried about the pending Luck contract. As Tandler writes, Washington could lock up Cousins today for something in the neighborhood of $20MM per year, but if they wait until next season, the club could end up paying more than $40MM more over the life of Cousins’ contract than if it acts now.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions:

Tomorrow marks five full weeks since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady filed a request for an en banc hearing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, legal experts anticipated that the Court would take no more than six weeks to make its decision, so Brady should know within the next few days whether he will get a second bite at the appellate apple.
Ben Volin of The Boston Globe hears that Michael Lombardi‘s recent departure from the Patriots was not as mutual as it was first reported. Volin writes that New England was happy to have Lombardi serve as the team’s assistant to the coaching staff the past two years, because most of his salary was still being paid by the Browns, but after Lombardi’s contract expired, the Patriots chose not to keep Lombardi on the books. Volin adds that head coach Bill Belichick was Lombardi’s only real ally inside the building, and that Lombardi’s role in bringing in former Browns like Jabaal Sheard and Dion Lewis was overstated.
In his ongoing examination of each team’s best and worst contracts, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com writes that the best deal on the Jets‘ books is Brandon Marshall‘s, whereas Fitzgerald believes David Harris‘ deal is the team’s worst contract.

Latest On Kirk Cousins, Redskins

June 23rd, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

With roughly three weeks until the extension deadline, the assumption is that Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins will play out the 2016 season on his $19.95MM franchise tender, sources from both sides tell Albert Breer of The MMQB. While talks are “amicable” between both sides, Breer hears that they are basically going nowhere.

Cousins’ reps are negotiating on the premise that Cousins can earn roughly $44MM over the next two years if he is tagged for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Redskins, meanwhile, are reluctant to meet those numbers in the first two years of a contract (and, presumably, reflect those salaries beyond 2017) since they want to see Cousins prove himself all over again. As Breer notes, the Redskins may be playing a dangerous game with their QB. If, as expected, Andrew Luck signs a record-breaking extension and Cousins turns in another strong year, then their quarterback’s asking price will skyrocket.

Another factor to consider is the impact of the Josh Norman signing on the Redskins’ salary cap. The cornerback’s massive deal will carry a $20MM cap hit in 2017. Therefore, if Washington were to exercise the franchise tag on Cousins next season at $24MM, more than 25% of its cap space would be dedicated to two players, and that’s a pie chart that no NFL team wants to be facing.

Cousins, 27, became Washington’s full-time starting quarterback for the first time last season, earning 16 of his 25 career starts in 2015. The four-year veteran finished the regular season on a tear, completing 74% of his passes for nearly 1,200 yards, 12 touchdowns, and a 134.0 quarterback rating over the final four weeks of the year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Fitz, Wilkerson, Cousins, Cowboys

June 15th, 2016 at 5:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets’ Todd Bowles indicated Tuesday that there’s no deadline to sign free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the head coach backtracked on that today, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If it’s Week 4 in training camp and he’s not here, you know who your starter is going to be Week 1,” Bowles said, implying that Geno Smith would be the Jets’ No. 1 signal-caller in such an extreme scenario. “You have time until you don’t have time,” continued Bowles, who added that the Jets will consider signing a veteran to compete for a backup role with rookie Christian Hackenberg and second-year man Bryce Petty if Gang Green doesn’t re-up Fitzpatrick.

More from the NFL’s two East divisions:

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is content to play this season under the $19.95MM franchise tag if he and the club don’t reach a long-term agreement by the July 15 deadline, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. One reason the 27-year-old is fine with operating under the tag is because he knows his price will continue rising if the Redskins franchise him again next offseason, relays Florio. Indeed, it would cost Washington $23.94MM to tag Cousins in 2017 and $34.47MM to do the same in 2018.
Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson – who skipped OTAs and is sitting out minicamp (and could hold out of training camp) – will not settle for less than the $103MM extension the Eagles gave Fletcher Cox on his next deal, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Although Wilkerson has a star-level track record, the Jets don’t regard the two-time second-team All-Pro highly enough to pay him Cox-type of money and already have a pair of other stud D-linemen in Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams. Thus, Wilkerson is likely to eventually sign his $15.7MM franchise tag, play 2016 under that and then bolt in free agency, per Costello.
The Cowboys have named Lionel Vital their director of college scouting, tweets Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. Dallas hired Vital as a senior personnel executive in March, but the team has now clarified his role. Vital was previously the personnel director for the Falcons, who parted ways with him in January.
After a mini-holdout, standout Dolphins safety Reshad Jones reported to minicamp earlier today.

Extra Points: Packers, Baldwin, Cousins, Bears

June 11th, 2016 at 12:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Veteran wideout James Jones was surprised when the Packers notified him that he wouldn’t be back in 2016. As ESPN.com’s Jason Wilde writes, the receiver expected to return to Green Bay even despite the talented receiving corps.

“I wasn’t mad that they didn’t bring me back, but I was surprised,” the wideout said. “Me and Mike [McCarthy] had a very good conversation at the end of the year after we had lost to Arizona and I kind of felt like, ‘OK, cool, I’m going to be back.’ Whether it’s [a] one-year [deal], whether it’s two years, I felt like Mike was going to bring me back. But he didn’t.”

While Jones isn’t rooting for any of his former teammates to get injured, he acknowledged that he’d gladly return to the team should the need arise.

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFL…

The recent extension for receiver Keenan Allen could indicate the “floor” for Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
Kirk Cousins said there’s been no progress on an extension with the Redskins, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSN MidAtlantic. With about a month left to come to an agreement, the signal-caller told writers to “stay tuned.”
Former Redskins fullback Darrel Young will be participating in the Bears minicamp, tweets Mike Jones of The Washington Post. The six-year veteran has 13 career touchdowns, and the 29-year-old has never missed more than three games in a season.

NFC East Notes: Cousins, Giants, JPP, Harrison

May 16th, 2016 at 11:07am CST by Zachary Links

Washington general manager Scot McCloughan says that quarterback Kirk Cousins will be here “a long time,” as John Keim of ESPN.com writes. Of course, as of today, Cousins is still slated to play under the franchise tag for the 2016 season. For his part, Cousins acknowledged that extension talks will likely heat up as the July 15th deadline approaches, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com tweets.

Washington can’t afford to lose Cousins and they also can’t really afford to franchise tag him for a second time at ~$24MM in 2017. If the team were to do that, more than 25% of their cap space would be dedicated to Cousins and pricey new addition Josh Norman.

While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s a look at the NFC East:

The Giants will likely move Jason Pierre-Paul around the defensive line this year, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes. JPP, who was re-signed this offseason on a one-year, $10MM+ deal, likely can’t line up as a full-time starter at right defensive end spot due to the state of his right hand. The two-time Pro Bowler could be moved inside to play defensive tackle on passing downs while seeking the bulk of his time at left defensive end. On the opposite bookend, the Giants will trot out free agent acquisition Olivier Vernon.
More from Graziano, who writes that run-stuffer Damon Harrison will team with Johnathan Hankins on early downs. While Snacks’ $9.5MM/year salary might seem high for a two-down player, the Giants firmly believe that he will benefit them on third downs by lengthening the distance their opponent has to go with his work on first and second downs. Giants opponents converted 47% of third-down opportunities in 2016, the highest figure in the league, so Big Blue needs Harrison to help set the tone.
Jordan Reed’s contract extension lets other Washington players know that they will get paid if they work hard and produce, Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. Reed, a third-round pick in the 2013 draft, inked a five-year, $48.4MM deal that includes $22MM in guarantees. Reed set career highs in games played (14), receptions (87), receiving yards (952), and touchdowns (11) in 2015. “It’s a great message to send to the rest of the guys, man,” coach Jay Gruden said. “You work hard, you produce, good things will happen, and it did for Jordan. He’s a great kid and obviously we have high aspirations for him.”

East Rumors: Rolle, Tunsil, Jets, Cousins

May 3rd, 2016 at 8:08am CST by Zachary Links

Safety Antrel Rolle is on the open market and he tells SiriusXM (audio link) that he would like to return to the Giants.

“I’ve never hidden it. New York is where the heart is. New York is where I feel comfortable,” Rolle said (transcript via PFT). “New York is a place where I would love to play. You know, there’s a difference playing for an organization, you know, you’re there to play and to win, and you’re there because that’s where your contract is. And there’s a difference in playing where your heart is. I would absolutely be open to the situation if it presents itself. Obviously it would have to make sense for both [sides]. The New York Giants, I think it would definitely make sense for both myself and the team. But let’s see what happens.”

The Giants added third-round pick Darian Thompson to the safety mix, but there is no slam-dunk starter at the free safety position. Still, as Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes, a reunion between Rolle and Big Blue seems unlikely.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

Despite the gas-mask/bong video that surfaced on draft night, Dolphins first-round choice Laremy Tunsil will avoid entering Stage 1 of the NFL’s substance-abuse program, a source tells James Walker of ESPN.com.
While many speculated that Tunsil’s stepfather was behind the shocking draft day leak, Tunsil’s attorney, Steve Farese, says that’s not the case. “Initially, that would be the low-hanging fruit,” Farese said on SiriusXM (audio link; transcription via PFT). “Now I’ve drifted away from those thoughts and don’t believe he had anything to do with it.” The Dolphins believe Tunsil’s former financial advisor was responsible for the leak, according to a source who spoke with Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter).
Jets GM Mike Maccagnan “all but confirmed” that he explored trading up for Tunsil last Thursday, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Per Cimini, Maccagnan also didn’t rule out the possibility of keeping cornerback Dee Milliner on the roster beyond 2016 if he plays well this year, even after turning down his 2017 option today.
Before the Titans shipped the No. 1 overall pick to the Rams, the Jets inquired about trading up for the No. 1 pick in order to draft Jared Goff, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). It was previously reported that the Jets explored trading up to the top two, but it wasn’t clear which QB they were targeting.
Kirk Cousins believes “there’s a chance” that a long-term deal could be hammered out with Washington between now and the July 15th deadline, but he tells 106.7 The Fan that he’s also comfortable with playing the year out. “If they feel like they have enough information and want to make that call right now, then great,” Cousins said. “But I think the ball’s in their court and I will react accordingly to whatever decision they make… I am totally comfortable playing more football, and frankly if I don’t play well next season, I don’t deserve to be back. I don’t deserve a long-term deal. So I want to go out and earn it, and prove myself, and if I need to prove myself again, that’s fine. I’ll go see if I can do that.”

Luke Adams contributed to this post.