That is Twitterverse talking...The last thing on the minds of the brass in Philadelphia is free agency, the draft or even trading veterans at this moment in time.
Smith = 7 wins Cousins = 5 wins Mayfield = 3-4 wins Rosen/Jackson = 2-3 wins Kizer = 1 win Darnold = 0 wins Allen = fold the franchise and move to London The difference is Cousins has hit his ceiling. Mayfield, Rosen, and Jackson (and even Darnold, to a lesser extent) have - potentially - a much, much higher one.
2019... Mayfield = 10-12 Jackson = 6-8 Cousins = 6-7 Rosen = 4-6 Kizer = 1-2 Darnold = 0-1 Allen = 0-16 as a member of the London Sillynannies
Ultimately, here's where you lose me, Eyedee. Yes... signing Kirk Cousins would stabilize a position within the franchise that has not been stabilized since Tim Couch - The Early Years. But Cousins has shown himself, in spite of very good numbers, to be a .500 quarterback. You go on to argue that, "Well... Cleveland has so many assets to build this tremendous team around him." -- which is a fair point, but it assumes two things: (1) John Dorsey gets it right with these players, and (2) Cousins at his ceiling now is better than any other prospect/veteran who has a higher projected ceiling.
So we're back to arguing over quality of QB. Cousins is a .500 QB. I view Mayfield as an All Pro-caliber and Jackson/Rosen as Pro Bowl-caliber prospect.
The only thing that matters is; What does John Dorsey think? We could debate the merits of these QB's for months....and I'm sure we will. I think Dorsey loves Mayfield, but I think he also likes the idea of putting the Browns in contention quickly...Not sure if he'll make serious attempt at Cousins or not...This is a dilemma that no GM has ever faced.
Also, we don't own Kirk Cousins a damn thing. We can sign him to a huge contract AND still draft a QB at #1 overall. If Cousins takes us to the playoffs, we trade the drafted guy. If he sucks out loud, we cut/trade him and move on to the drafted guy. That we think we need to bribe him with a skill player at No. 1 is ridiculous.
It's true, I do like you SAS and TD, you keep the conversations interesting. Although, you can't say that Cousins has hit a ceiling. He has been dealing with the same level of roster since he became starter in Washington. By your own statistical example, you proved it is in worse shape than our own 0-16 roster. Given a better group around him, that may just be his floor.
1-31 is ridiculous.... If all it takes to get Cousins to sign here is a stack of cash and a promise of Barkley, I'm okay with that...
I wouldn't be as upset over a #doubledown as I would putting all our eggs in a rookie basket...especially if that rookie isn't Baker Mayfield.
You know they will never do that. At least not with #1 or #4......Now signing Cousins and then drafting Mike White in the middle rounds is a possibility...
I don't know that at all! I can speculate that they sign Cousins with the promise of Barkley at #1 and the draft Mayfield at #4 (he WILL be there at #4).