Before he was the prized piece of a massive championship movement, Kirk Cousins was the biggest free agent on the block.
Numerous teams were interested, but it was essentially a two-horse race until the end between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets. The Vikings and their already stacked roster were too much for Cousins to pass up, but the Jets didn’t go down without a fight.
During Cousins’ new free agency documentary, he claimed New York offered him a staggering three-year contract worth $90 million, all fully guaranteed.
#Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has a new documentary showing the free agency process and how he eventually picked Minnesota. In it, he admits the #Jets offered a 3-year, #90M fully guaranteed deal, which is $6M more than what the #Vikings offered.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 28, 2018
Did you think it was a joke when the report surfaced that the Jets were willing to give Cousins whatever he wanted?
When you’re in need of a quarterback, it calls for desperate measures. With that measure, Cousins would’ve been tied with Matt Ryan for the most average money per season. As ridiculous as it sounds, a difference of $6 million isn’t enough to make up for the difference in talent when comparing the Vikings to the Jets.
The Jets may not have wanted this kind of information out, but in the end, Cousins did them a favor. When they knew the former Redskin was going to pass on them, New York went all in on the future face of the franchise Sam Darnold.
Maccagnan referred to Kirk Cousins as an "aberration in the market" who the #Jets went all in to sign, before immediately pivoting to trade up after they found out they were 2nd FA visit. Not new info, still interesting to hear him talk through again though. https://t.co/70QXP3cLiK
— Joe Caporoso (@JCaporoso) June 20, 2018
Cousins would’ve been a great addition for the Jets, but it didn’t work out. The fanbase has no right to ever be upset, as they clearly did more than enough to bring him in.
