Latest On Kirk Cousins
As our Sam Robinson detailed yesterday, any number of teams could pursue Kirk Cousins if and when he hits the open market, but the Broncos and Jets are currently considered the favorites in the Cousins sweepstakes (although it does appear that the Vikings and Cousins match up very nicely as well).
Indeed, as Troy E. Renck of Denver7 writes, the Broncos will be “all in” on Cousins, which is about as definitive as a statement of interest can get. And, as Renck notes, Denver does have a pretty strong sales pitch, as the club has more Super Bowl berths (seven) over the last 34 seasons than losing seasons (six), and it has shown a willingness to build around a free agent quarterback (see Peyton Manning, 2012). The Broncos also have a strong roster and could be just a solid QB away from returning to contention.
However, Denver does not have the same type of salary cap room that several other Cousins suitors enjoy, so Renck says that the Broncos would need Cousins to show flexibility in his salary over the first few seasons of his contract. Even though Cousins has expressed excitement over the possibility of playing for Denver, it is unclear whether he would be willing to make such a concession.
Enter the Jets. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Gang Green is reportedly willing to at least consider fully guaranteeing the entirety of Cousins’ contract if he were to sign with New York. And, if the Jets make that kind of pitch, other teams that want Cousins may have to follow suit or drop out of the race entirely.
And yet, even a fully-guaranteed contract may not be overly enticing to Cousins, as he may prefer a provision that guarantees him a fixed percentage of the salary cap after the first several years of the deal. After all, as Florio notes, most franchise quarterbacks do not suddenly lose their abilities or suffer career-ending injuries, and they typically either finish a long-term deal or have it torn up and replaced by a bigger deal before it expires.
Speaking of teams with a lot of money to throw at Cousins, the Browns have been discussed as a potential landing spot for the long-time Redskin, but John Keim of ESPN.com does not believe a Browns-Cousins marriage makes sense for either side, regardless of whether Washington tries to put the franchise tag on Cousins.
Poll: Who Will Sign Kirk Cousins?
With less than a month until free agency begins, Kirk Cousins looks to be — barring an 11th-hour Redskins franchise tag he would fight — close to signing a long-term contract with the team of his choice.
It’s an incredibly unique situation, and teams with disparate profiles figure to make runs at signing the 29-year-old quarterback. Rebuilding teams, contending teams and operations that would seemingly be contenders if supplied a quarterback are going to pursue Cousins. So, where will he go?
The Jets and Browns are going to have the most money to chase Cousins, and the former makes sense as a destination. New York surprised many last season by winning five games and finishing well off the pace for the No. 1 pick, which many predicted the rebuilding team would secure. The Jets could have more than $90MM in cap space after a few sensible roster moves, and despite their troubles in recent years, could make a case they are a young team who could build a long-term foundation around Cousins.
Cousins has said repeatedly that after making more than $44MM the past two years he wants to play for a contending team. The Browns, though, have a staggering amount of cap space at $110MM-plus. They could sell a free agent QB on their ability to construct a foundation, but their past does not inspire much confidence. And this, by just about every indication to this point, seems like the year they draft a quarterback.
The Bills made a surprise run to the playoffs last season, but Brandon Beane said upon being hired he doesn’t plan to make many high-cost free agent signings. Considering this figures to be the most expensive free agent in NFL history, it’s difficult to envision a Bills push for Cousins. And Tyrod Taylor may not be completely out of the picture yet.
The Broncos and Cardinals are in similar positions as recent contenders who have fallen off the pace a bit, and neither will have the cap space to outflank the Jets or Browns. Both saw quarterback play lower their ceilings last season, and the Cardinals saw their longtime starter retire and his backups’ contracts expire. Denver has both Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian under contract but has made no secret about wanting to upgrade — via free agency or the draft — with that desire presumably being centered around complementing the core players remaining from the Super Bowl season.
Both the Broncos and Jets are rumored to be gearing up for entrances into the Cousins sweepstakes, and the Bovada sports book has these two as the early frontrunners. However, both the Vikings and Jaguars fit the profile of franchises that could use Cousins as a possible springboard to a Super Bowl. How serious are they about this, though?
The Jaguars may have complications because of Blake Bortles‘ wrist surgery. The embattled starter not being able to pass a physical come mid-March will guarantee his $19MM fifth-year option salary and cloud a potential Cousins pursuit. Jacksonville’s current plan is to keep Bortles, but is a chance at Cousins too tempting to avoid?
The Vikings would make sense as well but may opt to stick with Case Keenum via franchise tag. However, Cousins has proven more than Keenum, and although he would make for a costlier expense, Minnesota being on the doorstep of its first Super Bowl berth in 40-plus years may make ditching their 2017 setup for Cousins a worthwhile gamble. The Vikings do have several core players entering contract years, which could make a near-$30MM-AAV Cousins accord complicated. Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter are four who fit that profile. How much will that factor into a Cousins push?
So, where does Cousins end up?
Does he stick to his winning-situation statements and avoid teams who have struggled in recent years, or can the Browns or Jets submit an offer he can’t refuse? Can the Broncos make a sales pitch that their history surrounding a UFA QB with championship-caliber talent would be worth sacrificing a bit of cash, or is their nucleus’ window closing to the point Cousins looks elsewhere? How serious are the Cardinals and Bills in this derby? And how much would the Vikings or Jaguars entering the fray change the outlook of this high-stakes process? Take PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Browns To Use Todd Haley's Steelers Offense
- The Browns‘ offense may like quite familiar to a certain fanbase next season. Todd Haley will be bringing over his offensive system from Pittsburgh, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes. The longtime OC and new Browns play-caller will be implementing his scheme, complete with new terminology, so it will mark a significant adjustment from a team that operated without an OC the past two seasons. However, some of Hue Jackson‘s previous concepts will be retained, Haley said.
Could Browns Be Suitor For Drew Brees?
- Meanwhile, Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com says if Brees ends up reaching free agency, the Browns could be a serious suitor. The team is rostering a talented wideout in Josh Gordon and a veteran tackle in Joe Thomas, and they’re armed with $110MM in cap space and several alluring draft picks. While Brees may not want to consider an organization that just completed a winless season, the writer believes a one-year, $50MM might not be out of the question.
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Browns To Meet With Vontae Davis
Vontae Davis will visit with the Browns on Friday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). There are more visits coming down the pike for the former Colts cornerback next week, Schefter hears. 
[RELATED: Vontae Davis Gains Medical Clearance]
Davis kicked off his free agent tour on Thursday when he met with the Bills. He left Buffalo without a deal and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he also leaves Cleveland without signing a contract. Davis likely wants to consider all of his options and free agency won’t begin for most of the league’s players for another four weeks, so it stands to reason that he will wait patiently for the right opportunity.
After two Pro Bowl seasons, Davis’ play began to tail off in 2016. Last year, injuries slowed Davis down and ultimately led the Colts to release him in November. The veteran was also said to be angry about the prospect of being bumped from the starting lineup. At this stage of his career, it’s not clear if any club is willing to guarantee Davis a first-string job.
In other Browns news, Cleveland may be a team to watch as A.J. McCarron enters unrestricted free agency.
Browns Notes: McCarron, McCloughan
Now that’s been declared an unrestricted free agent, Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron says he’s “open to everything,” according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It’s just awesome just to be free now and to hopefully get that opportunity and be able to compete somewhere,” said McCarron. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m just super excited.” McCarron, who won a grievance against the Bengals, will now join a free agent signal-caller class that includes Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, and Sam Bradford, among others. In what sounds like speculation, the Browns (who nearly traded for McCarron last year) and the Vikings are two team to “keep an eye on” as McCarron hits the open market, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).
- Updating a previous report, former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan is indeed still running his scouting service and has not been hired full-time by the Browns, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. McCloughan is providing consulting work for multiple NFL clubs.
Johnny Manziel Says He's Bipolar
In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel opened up about his history of substance abuse and disclosed that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Browns Examining Trade-Down Options
Had the Browns been able to land Alex Smith, they would have strongly considered trading out of the No. 1 spot. The Browns tried to give the Chiefs one of their three second-round picks for the quarterback, and had Kansas City not chosen Washington’s offer, the Browns would have “aggressively shopped” their top pick, per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. This would have been an interesting strategy given what’s transpired over the past two drafts in Cleveland, with the currently woeful franchise passing on Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson, but the Browns do have the No. 4 pick as well. That could be used on a quarterback, and Miller hears the team is still considering trading down from one of its two top-five spots (but not both). The Browns have been connected to four quarterbacks at No. 1, with newly hired consultant Scot McCloughan being a staunch Baker Mayfield proponent.
Latest On Browns, Baker Mayfield
Shortly after Super Bowl LII’s conclusion, the Browns continued planning their exhaustive research process about the 2018 quarterback class. Baker Mayfield looks to feature prominently in this pre-draft routine.
The Browns contacted the Heisman Trophy winner and set up a pre-draft visit, Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com reports, adding this doubles as Mayfield’s first invite.
Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, however, notes nothing is finalized about a Mayfield summit yet. But it’s expected. Cabot reports the Browns will bring in all of the top quarterback prospects for visits before the draft. They’ve been connected to four passers in what promises to be a unique offseason.
Part of the complexity now comes from Scot McCloughan, whom the Browns are using as a consultant during the process. A scouting guru, the former Redskins GM could be working toward a full-time role with the Browns, Cabot notes. And he hasn’t made his Mayfield feelings much of a secret.
McCloughan has praised Mayfield during multiple radio interviews, and by the time he made pro-Mayfield comments on Jan. 18, Cabot reports he was already moving toward his consulting role with the Browns. During the interview, McCloughan said he would take Mayfield over Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen.
“He is a competitive guy. He wears it on his sleeve from the standpoint of emotions,” McCloughan said (via Denver-based 104.3 The Fan). “He plays with strength throughout his body, and the fact that he’s just a football player — it’s impressive. It’s a really good class this year coming out in the draft for quarterbacks. But I know this, if I was going to play one game tomorrow, he’d be my guy — hands down.”
Considering the influence he’ll have in the coming months, these comments are certainly illuminating. Cabot reports McCloughan was talking up Mayfield to John Dorsey at the Senior Bowl last month.
As a Seahawks exec, McCloughan helped make the decision to use a third-round pick on 6-foot Russell Wilson. Considering the troubles the Browns have experienced at quarterback since rebooting their franchise, and the current pick they hold, this decision qualifies as a much higher-profile call.
Both Dorsey and Hue Jackson prefer taller quarterbacks, per Cabot, who previously wrote she doesn’t expect Mayfield to be the top Browns choice. Few mock drafts have him going to Cleveland. Klemko ranks the Browns as Mayfield’s most likely landing spot and adds his experience and football aptitude could sway Dorsey, who said Patrick Mahomes‘ ability to process some of Andy Reid‘s playbook during the parties’ pre-draft summit helped influence the Chiefs’ decision to trade up for the raw Texas Tech passer.
Browns Hire Sam Shade
- The Chargers have hired former UCLA assistant Rip Scherer as their new tight ends coach, reports Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Scherer will replace John McNulty, who recently left Los Angeles in order to become Rutgers’ offensive coordinator. Scherer, for his part, has a history of coaching quarterbacks in the NFL, and has done so with the Browns (2005-08) and Panthers (200-10). The rest of his coaching tenure has been spent in the NCAA, and he’s been a play-caller at stops such as Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, and Southern Miss.
- The Browns have added Sam Shade to their staff as an assistant special teams coach, the club announced today. Shade will work under Amos Jones, who replaced Chris Tabor as Cleveland’s primary special teams coach earlier this year. Shade spent the 2017 campaign as Georgia State’s cornerbacks coach, and previously served as special teams coordinator at Samford for seven seasons.