If the Broncos have to trade for Kirk Cousins, just forget it
If the Denver Broncos have to trade for Kirk Cousins in addition to paying him a record-breaking contract, they should just forget it…
As awesome as it would be for the Denver Broncos to pursue and potentially even be the favorites to sign Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, there are significant hurdles in the way yet.
The first and most important hurdle is the team that drafted Cousins, the Washington Redskins. The Redskins have the first rights to Cousins right now, and even after franchise tagging him for two consecutive years, the Redskins are in the driver’s seat as far as Cousins’ 2018 season is concerned.
It may be expensive, but the Redskins can franchise or transition tag Cousins. The franchise tag price could be prohibitive, but the transition tag price is more manageable and the Redskins may be more apt to work out a trade with another team versus letting Cousins go and recouping a third round compensatory pick in 2019.
Broncos beat writer Cecil Lammey on Denver pursuit of Kirk Cousins: "It sounds like the Washington #Redskins will not let Kirk Cousins go without getting something for him in return. The buzz is that Washington will transition tag Cousins then put him on the trade block."
— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) January 30, 2018
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If this is the case, the Denver Broncos should just forget about it. If the Redskins are trying to maximize value for Cousins and want to extract something valuable from the Broncos or any other team for a guy who has no interest in playing for them, that’s something another team can do.
If the Broncos are going to be willing to give up their top assets in the draft and in free agency to acquire Cousins, it’s not worth it.
The fifth overall pick is obviously the most valuable asset the Broncos have, but Cousins is not the only fish in the sea this offseason at quarterback, and while he might present the quickest route back into title contention, there are other ways the Broncos can build the roster and specifically starting with the quarterback position.
The Redskins would be virtually guaranteed a third round pick for Cousins in the 2019 NFL Draft as a compensatory pick. They may not be able to get much better value than that in a trade for a 2018 NFL Draft pick because whatever team is acquiring Cousins is going to need to utilize and maximize their draft capital since he’ll be taking up such a large portion of the salary cap.