Despite some speculation to the contrary, Kirk Cousins has not ruled out any team, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). That’s good news for the Jets, who have been buying into the increasing chatter that the Vikings will be his destination. 
A recent report from Adam Schefter of ESPN.com identified four “final” teams vying for the quarterback’s services: the Broncos, Cardinals, Jets and Vikings. The Browns were conspicuously absent from that list, but Mehta’s latest report leaves open the possibility that Cleveland can still be a factor for him. Still, the Browns may prefer to sign a lower-cost veteran to pair with a quarterback selected at No. 1 or No. 4 overall in April’s draft.
Other than the Browns, the Jets have the most room on hand of any QB-needy team to pull off a Cousins deal. The Vikings can also make it work with $47.6MM in cap space if they allow Case Keenum to walk. It’s a bit trickier to see how the Broncos ($23MM in space) and the Cardinals ($20.2MM) can work him into the budget.
As of last week, Cousins was planning to wait until at least March 14 to sign with a club, even though he could reach a handshake agreement with teams as soon as March 12. Right now, it seems like everything is on the table and it may be more than a week until Cousins reaches a decision.
Yeah, I’d bet the Browns would pass on the “lower tier” quarterbacks to sign Cousins. In a heartbeat.
I was thinking the same thing when I read that hahaha
I would not be surprised to see the Redskins file a grievance with the league for “illegal tampering” when it comes to Cousins. With all the reports about his reps talking with other teams/gauging the market for him during the combine they probably believe they have ample “evidence” to do so. Even though every team does this I wouldn’t put it past the petty Redskins to make such a move. They are so hell-bent on getting some form of compensation for Cousins. Particularly since they’ll probably wipe out any comp pick with a big name free agent signing.
No kidding. Adding Captain Kirk and Barkley and maybe that BIG OL from ND would be a pretty big score
But unfortunately we’re talking about the Browns here. Like everyone else Kirk will go to Cleveland to meet and have the free dinner and then sign somewhere else.
The Browns don’t need Nelson; their guards are fine, but they could potentially need a tackle if Joe Thomas retires. Otherwise, that’s not an issue.
In the unlikely scenario that they sign Cousins, I’d prefer Fitzpatrick (who’s my favorite player in the draft) and Barkley.