Kirk Cousins has plenty of free agency destinations after the Alex Smith trade

Washington was heading into the offseason with an uncertain situation at quarterback. Kirk Cousins was set to be a free agent, and after getting the franchise tag for two straight years, tagging him a third time would’ve cost an extraordinary amount of money. With little to no shot of negotiating a long-term deal, Washington found itself in a bind.

On Tuesday night, Washington decided to get ahead of the issue, trading for Alex Smith and leaving Cousins free to hit the open market. It also committed to Smith for the near future, signing him to a four-year extension (his contract was set to expire after 2018).

So with Smith now playing in the nation’s capital, all attention turns to Cousins’ next destination. He’ll be the most coveted quarterback on the open market, coming off a string of quality seasons and still in his prime at age 29. Quarterbacks of Cousins’ caliber simply don’t hit free agency that often, so he’ll have no shortage of suitors when the new league year begins March 14.

With all that in mind, what teams are the most logical candidates to pursue Cousins? We brainstormed some ideas in October, when the San Francisco 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo. Let’s reassess things a bit now that the offseason is right around the corner.

(all salary cap data via Over the Cap)

QBs: Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Chad Kelly
Cap space: $26.7 million

Siemian wasn’t the answer, and Lynch already looks like a bust. Despite the defense having another good year, John Elway is getting impatient after the team plummeted to 5-11, so a blockbuster Cousins deal makes sense for a win-now team. Adding Cousins would do a lot to stabilize an offense that’s been stagnant since Peyton Manning retired. The problem is the limited cap money they have at the moment, so Elway will have to get creative to free up space if he hopes to have a serious shot at Cousins.

QBs: Kyle Sloter
Cap space: $53.5 million

The Vikings have tough choices to make with Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Bradford all being free agents. They have the cap space to keep whomever they want, but if a player like Cousins is available, that’s an extremely tempting proposition. Pairing him with rising stars like Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, and Stefon Diggs could push the Vikings over the top after reaching the NFC Championship last season.

QBs: Blake Bortles
Cap space: $16.9 million

I’ll just quote Adam Stites here from October.

Everything about the Jaguars is good except the quarterback position. They boast one of the NFL’s best defenses and a dangerous running game with Leonard Fournette, but Blake Bortles is still the same Blake Bortles.

Jacksonville picked up his fifth-year option meaning he’s set to make more than $19 million in 2018, but that’s only guaranteed for injury. What the Jaguars can do — and almost definitely will do, barring a serious injury — is cut him and recoup that $19 million.

That’ll leave a playoff-level roster with a lot of money still left to spare looking for a quarterback. With the 49ers out of the way, this seems like the new match made in heaven for Cousins.

QBs: None
Cap space: $8.7 million

Carson Palmer just retired, and Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert (both free agents) clearly aren’t the future. That means the Cardinals are starting over at quarterback, and getting Cousins would be a nice coup for new head coach Steve Wilks. However, they are extremely tight against the salary cap, and short of a veteran contract purge, Arizona probably doesn’t have the room to pay Cousins what he’s worth.

QBs: Tyrod Taylor, Nathan Peterman
Cap space: $29.4 million

All signs point to the Bills moving on from Taylor and re-entering the quarterback market. Despite breaking their 17-year playoff drought, the Bills still have too many flaws to think they can contend with the current roster. Cousins would be a nice addition, but there aren’t that many weapons in the offense right now.

QBs: Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg, Joel Stave
Cap space: $72.6 million

This is admittedly a long shot, but the Jets have the cap room to make it happen. At some point, they need to commit to a long-term quarterback instead of kicking the can down the road, but Cousins would be an immediate upgrade at a position of need, so it’d make sense to pursue him.

QBs: DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan
Cap space: $109.6 million

I mean, it’s probably not happening — especially if Cousins wants to go to a winning team. But there’s nothing wrong with at least calling up his agent to gauge interest.