It was no secret that last offseason, the Denver Broncos were hunting for their next franchise QB, and they probably avoided a huge disaster in the end. Back in March, when the NFL Free Agency period officially kicked off, the biggest deal handed out was when Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons on a four-year, $180 million deal.
Well, do you remember this report from the well-connected Albert Breer back in March?
"The Broncos and GM George Paton had also touched base with McCartney, letting him know that, while the team was a little hamstrung cap-wise, he and Sean Payton liked Cousins a lot, and would be interested if the market changed a bit."Albert Breer
Broncos avoided a total disaster
Goodness gracious. The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins, and then shockingly took Michael Penix Jr with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Many people hammered the Falcons for signing Cousins and drafting Penix, and it seems like their investment in Cousins is already going downhill.
Cousins has thrown zero touchdowns against six interceptions over the last three weeks and just looks flat-out washed up. He's 36 years old and is coming off of a torn Achilles he suffered with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2023. You just have to ask yourself if Atlanta just burned a ton of money by signing Cousins, as they are now 6-6 on the season, a pretty mediocre team overall, and are keeping their 24-year-old rookie QB in Penix on the bench.
I mean, how much different would their 2024 have been had they not signed Cousins, invested more dollars into their defense, and started Penix from Week 1? The Denver Broncos probably avoided a total disaster by not signing Cousins, as they could have steered them away from drafting Bo Nix. They may have taken someone like Brock Bowers instead, and they would have entered the 2024 NFL Season with no long-term answer at QB.
Not only that, them not signing Cousins is also a huge relief for their cap space, as they are right in the middle of absorbing Russell Wilson's $85 million dead cap hit. Overall, it's great that the Denver Broncos did not pursue Kirk Cousins.
While he could have brought some immediate production to the offense, it's not like Bo Nix hasn't.
Kirk Cousins would have most definitely fit the offense that Sean Payton likes to run, and current GM George Paton was in the Vikings front office when they signed Cousins back in 2018. Perhaps Denver would have pulled the trigger if the number came down a bit, but I cannot think of any scenario where it would have been a good idea, unless Cousins wanted to play for free.
The Broncos passed on Cousins and put their faith in a rookie QB. That's worked out well for them. Denver is 8-5 and surging, and Atlanta is 6-6 and crumbling.