The NFL's quarterback carousel got off to an unexpected and rollicking start on Tuesday night with the news that the Washington Redskins are replacing Kirk Cousins with Alex Smith.
The blockbuster trade between the Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs will have major ramifications for quarterback-needy teams such as the New York Jets, who can now focus their desperate eyes on Cousins.
The trade means Cousins will become an unrestricted free agent (no franchise tag this year), and the Jets are expected to be one of his suitors. It's an unusual situation -- a healthy, still-in-his-prime starting quarterback hitting the open market. Owner/ambassador Woody Johnson might have to borrow some of the Queen's jewels to meet Cousins' asking price, but the Jets have the resources to land him -- from a cap standpoint, anyway.
The Jets have $73 million in salary-cap room, the fourth-highest amount in the league, according to overthecap.com. Other teams that might jump into the Cousins sweepstakes are the Cleveland Browns ($110 million), Buffalo Bills ($29 million), Denver Broncos ($29 million), Jacksonville Jaguars ($17 million) and Arizona Cardinals ($9 million).
The Jets also could make themselves more attractive to Cousins by promoting Jeremy Bates to offensive coordinator, which is expected to happen. Bates is a disciple of Mike Shanahan, who drafted Cousins and coached him in 2012-2013. On Tuesday, about seven hours before word of the trade leaked, Cousins spoke glowingly of Bates, who likely would install the Shanahan offense.
(First rule of free agency: Pending free agents never say anything bad about anybody, especially a prospective employer.)
Cousins also said in the same interview he wants to be in a winning situation, which would seemingly hurt the Jets' chances, but don't read too much into that, either. The Browns, Broncos and Cardinals stunk last year, too.
(Second rule of free agency: Players will bend on the "winning" thing. Money is the great equalizer.)
Know this: Cousins will cost a fortune. With Smith getting a reported four-year, $94 million extension from the Redskins (including $71 million guaranteed), imagine the market for Cousins. He could fetch $120 million over four years, including $90 million in guarantees. That would make him the highest-paid player in the league.
Yes, the Jets have the cap room to make it happen, but are Woody and Christopher Johnson willing to make that kind of investment? Some folks at One Jets Drive wonder if the Johnson brothers will open the vault.
Cousins is a good quarterback, not a great one. The Redskins, the team that knows him best, decided they'd rather trade a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller for a quarterback who is four years older than Cousins. What does that tell you?
It should tell the Jets to proceed with caution. If they draft a quarterback with the sixth pick, they'd have to pay him about $24 million in guarantees, allowing them to maintain roster flexibility for years to come. The rebuilding process would take longer, and it would be riskier than having a known quantity such as Cousins, but there would be greater upside and a bigger window.
Now it's up to Maccagnan & Co. Do they go for the quick fix (Cousins) or try to build through the draft?
My gut tells me they'll try quick and expensive.