Greetings again, faithful readers. Now that Alex Smith is the new QB in DC, the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes has officially begun. No longer will this Top 10 QB be jerked around by a GM that never bothered to learn his name, or an owner more concerned with protecting a racist name than producing on the field. Instead, Kirk will have his pick of a bunch of teams that will want him to helm their offense over the next few years. This new series of posts will be dedicated to looking at the pros and cons of each of those suitors. We will begin with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals are in flux right now. David Johnson got hurt. Bruce Arians retired. Carson Palmer retired. Larry Fitzgerald might retire. New head coach Steve Wilks comes over from Carolina, where he served as the Panthers defensive coordinator. That is a lot of balls up in the air for a franchise. However, the signing of Kirk Cousins would instantly bring this team back to playoff contention, and will likely help Fitzgerald find a fountain of youth for another season or two.
The biggest thing holding the Cardinals back in recent years has been the quarterback play. When Palmer was on, he was fantastic. But the past two seasons, he has only been average or hurt, which kept a team that was 13-3 in 2015 to hovering at 8-8 this past season. In my past mock drafts, I have begged the Cardinals to take an heir apparent to Palmer, knowing his days were numbered. In fact, I told them to draft a guy in somewhere in the top 3 rounds every year since 2012. Those QBs? Nick Foles, Mike Glennon, Derek Carr, Brett Hundley, Paxton Lynch, DeShone Kizer. Some hits, some misses, but all could have done well with some time behind Palmer and the teachings of Bruce Arians. The only QBs that the Cardinals have drafted in that time? Ryan Lindley in 2012 (who last played in 2015), and Logan Thomas in 2014 (who is now a tight end in Buffalo). Instead, they stuck with Drew Stanton for far too long, and then picked up Blaine Gabbert this year. Kirk Cousins is a better QB than either of them, and would instantly boost their offense.
Cousins managed to throw for over 4,000 yards this past season after losing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, not to mention Jordan Reed's injuries and Jamison Crowder's disappointing season and Terrelle Pryor's complete flop. Imagine what he will be able to do with Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson, not to mention JJ Nelson. If they were able to add another receiving weapon through the draft, Cousins could be in heaven. New offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was able to get 4,000 yards a year out of Philip Rivers when he was the head coach of San Diego. He should be able to get those same numbers out of Cousins, and a bounce-back season from Johnson on the ground would be the perfect compliment to the passing game.
The main concern for the Cardinals, as it likely will be for the rest of the suitors, is the price tag. Woody Paige of the Denver Post said he heard 6 years, $170 million is the goal from Cousins' agent, which would make him the highest paid player in NFL history. Roughly $80-90 million of that would be guaranteed money as well. Signing Kirk Cousins to that contract would eat up most of the remaining salary cap room the team has. Of course, they could make some moves to free up space, including freeing up almost $3 million if they release Adrian Peterson. Nevertheless, some teams may be hesitant to give that much money to one player, especially if they think they can find a comparable QB for less.
I think the Cardinals should make a run on Kirk Cousins, because they are a team that is only a few pieces away from competing for a NFC Championship. A consistent QB leading the offense would go a long way to pushing Arizona from 8-8 to title contenders again.
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