NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Did Kirk Cousins drop a hint Monday that it's a two-horse race for his services?
At the end of a post on his website titled "Farewell, Washington," the quarterback included several tags. Two of them were "jets" and "vikings." He later deleted those tags.
Kirk Cousins is either smoke screening us or his web guy probably shouldn't have included post tags on each page. #jets #vikings pic.twitter.com/4NepbzIJhX
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) March 12, 2018The Jets and Vikings, along with the Broncos and Cardinals, are expected to pursue Cousins, widely considered the top free agent hitting the market this week. The legal tampering period, when teams can talk to soon-to-be free agents, began Monday. Contracts may be agreed to as early as 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Cousins will likely become the highest-paid player in the NFL when he is paid is in the ballpark of $30 million a year. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, at least two teams are prepared to offer him three-year contracts that would be fully guaranteed -- something NFL teams rarely offer beyond two seasons.
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Sitting $92 million under the salary cap, the Jets are best positioned to offer Cousins the most money. But the 29-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback has said publicly he's more concerned about joining a team built to win rather than fetching top dollar. The Jets are coming off back-to-back 5-11 seasons.
Rapoport reported Monday that the Vikings are "in the driver's seat" for Cousins. They went 13-3 last season, reached the NFC championship game with third-string QB Case Keenum and had the NFL's top-ranked defense. In other words, Cousins could be the piece they're missing to go all the way. Minnesota is more than $45 million under the salary cap.
MAYOWA VISITING JETS
Former Cowboys defensive end Benson Mayowa is visiting Florham Park, according to Rapoport.
Mayowa, 26, has nine sacks in his five-year career, which also includes stops in Seattle and Oakland. His best season came in 2016, when he had six sacks for the Cowboys.
Mayowa also will visit the Redskins, and possibly the Seahawks and Colts, too, if he isn't signed before.
GIANTS BRING BACK HERZLICH, HALAPIO
The Giants announced Monday they have re-signed reserve linebacker Mark Herzlich and guard Jon Halapio.
Herzlich, 30, is headed into his seventh season. He has played in 88 games, made 17 starts and recorded 118 tackles.
Halapio, 26, spent 2016 on the Giants' practice squad. Last season, he played in 10 games, making six starts.
