The Bills should stay away from Kirk Cousins

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By Brandon J. Koch

I like soon to be free agent Kirk Cousins, he’s a pretty good quarterback.

But for $26 MILLON DOLLARS a season, I’d have to love him, and I don’t love him.

I’m also not in charge of the Buffalo Bills, that’s Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane, but I’m hoping they feel the same way.

Quarterback frenzy is already in full swing and the first domino dropped Tuesday night when Alex Smith was traded to the Redskins. It was then later when Washington gave Smith a 4 year contract worth $94 million dollars.

Free agency will be called the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes and the question is should Buffalo actually invest that much money on their cap to go and sign Cousins?

That answer should be no. Here’s why:

1. Salary cap: The Bills have about $32 million in cap space as of now, and can add more with certain moves. Brandon Beane has talked about the cap situation and always says how the organization has come along way and is on the right track to getting back into a better cap scenario. Why would they get to this point and spend it all back for Cousins? Doesn’t make sense.
2. Roster: The Bills have a lot of holes and I expect them to smartly use money on the cap to try and fill them. With 22 free agents we know defensive line, maybe resigning EJ Gaines, another linebacker and adding better depth are priorities. Plenty too spend on.
3. Drafting a quarterback: Beane also has given rumblings on getting their own guy at quarterback, while McDermott talked about having a veteran in the QB room. The plan should be doing what it takes to get the franchise rookie and get a bridge guy if needed.
4. Other teams: there are plenty of teams with interested in Cousins. The Jets, Browns, Broncos, Cardinals. There’s always a wildcard. Could the Bills outbid them? That would be hard to do.
5. The plan: McDermott from day one has talked about the process and sticking with the plan that this organization has set forward. They need to continue to build through the draft, smart and cheap free agent signings and continue to move bad contracts. Signing Cousins to a near guaranteed $90 million does not help in building an entire football team. Another term McDermott has endlessly talked about.

You be the judge, should the Bills make a run at Cousins?