Kirk Cousins is signing a three-year, $84 million deal to play for the Minnesota Vikings, thus thwarting any moves the Jets may have made to obtain the pricey, free agent QB. No doubt the Jets could have matched the money, and then some. But in losing Cousins, they are accidentally better off.
To paraphrase a famous song from a famous rock band, you may not always get what you want, but you might find you get what you need.
This happens often in life, in various forms. Maybe you were down because you were turned down by a lady whom you later discovered was a horrible match for you. Perhaps you didn't get offered a job that wasn't a good fit and wound up getting a better gig. You've even heard of folks who miss a plane, train or bus that winds up in some accident, sparing you all kinds of pain.
The Jets just got the football iteration of this. Losing out on the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes is way more serendipity than the hard luck of a loser. The Jets, trying to build themselves into a playoff team, might have hemorrhaged $100 million -- maybe all of it guaranteed -- for a QB who hasn't won a single playoff game. You can upgrade and not upchuck much of your salary cap.
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Cousins is a good quarterback. Sometimes he plays like a very good quarterback. But he's been the rare beneficiary of NFL rules, which have always been skewed in serious favor of owners. After getting franchise-tagged and vastly overpaid the last two years -- a combined salary of $43.9 million -- Cousins entered a free agent class of middle-tier quarterbacks being younger than Alex Smith, better than AJ McCarron, and he cashed in. (Drew Brees, who just signed a two-year, $50 million deal with the Saints, was never going to leave New Orleans, so he doesn't count.)
Cousins may be paid like a franchise QB, but that doesn't make him one. Cousins is a capitalist in a sport that does all it can to avoid the very bidding wars that just made him a rich man. But the truth is Cousins is perfectly contoured for a title contender, a team with a brick-hard defense and robust running game. In other words, the Minnesota Vikings. That's why Von Miller pined so hard for Cousins's services. Other than the Vikings, the Denver Broncos are the only other team well-suited for his skill set.
The Jets could sign John Unitas in his prime and wouldn't win the Super Bowl this year. Gang Green does have some serious resources at their disposal, entering this offseason with cavernous cap space (about $92 million before the expected signings of Isaiah Crowell, Trumaine Johnson, Avery Williamson, etc.), the No. 6 pick in the draft and a gaggle of good quarterbacks coming out of college. We get annoyed with opaque terms like "upside," but we've seen Cousins' ceiling, and it feels as though someone like Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen or maybe even Josh Allen has a higher one.
If it feels like I'm killing Cousins, it's accidental. Cousins could easily play in the NFC title game this season, if not the Super Bowl. The Vikings are that good and came within 60 minutes of the Super Bowl with Case Keenum, a third-stringer. So even if Cousins didn't make the best monetary decision, he made the right gridiron choice. The Vikings are perfect for a B to B-plus quarterback who can only win with a firewall of talent around him.
MORE: Reports: Jets Signing QBs Bridgewater, McCownThe Washington Redskins, a better club than the Jets, were just 26-30-1 with Cousins at QB. Over last two seasons -- during which Cousins was paid just under $44 million -- his record was 15-16-1. He's played in one playoff game, and lost it. And while he qualified for the 2016 Pro Bowl, almost any QB with a decent season and a pulse plays in one over his career.
The Jets just did the more prudent thing, signing Teddy Bridgewater and re-signing Josh McCown, thus keeping their cap space and latitude to keep scouting quarterbacks.
Cousins will make a whisker under $29 million in Minnesota this year. If he plays deep into January, he's worth it to the Vikings. The Jets would have had to pay more for fewer wins. So the Vikings and Cousins did Gang Green a serious solid.
As the song said, the Jets didn't get what they wanted, but they got what they needed.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
