Once upon a time, a significant chunk of the New York Jets fanbase wished for Kirk Cousins. On the figurative eve of the 2018 NFL draft, Mike Maccagnan’s Jets had a big-time quarterback decision on their hands.
Two contrasting choices were on the table:
- Take their chances at No. 6 overall
- Sign free agent Kirk Cousins
New York ultimately moved from No. 6 to No. 3 via an Indianapolis Colts trade, which allowed them to snag USC’s Sam Darnold.
A history of flirting
Mikey Mac dished out three second-round picks to move up three spots, one of which turned into potential Hall-of-Famer Quenton Nelson. And yes, this was the same class where Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were taken later in Round 1, but let’s not drive ourselves totally mad on this day.
What’s important is that the Jets chose Darnold. Well, they chose him in the draft, at least. The reality of the situation is much different.
Had Kirk Cousins signed on the dotted line, Darnold would have never been a thing. The Jets quarterback never catching mono would have ever come to fruition, and who knows if the California kid ever catches up with guru Kevin O’Connell.
Maccagnan offered Cousins significant money, yet he turned them down. Worse yet, most rumors surrounding Cousins’s rejection dealt with his camp using the Jets to increase the Minnesota Vikings’ eventual accepted offer.
Seven years later, the man who turned down a fully guaranteed $90 million offer to sign with Minny is back in the Jets loop.
A Jets-Cousins union?
This past week, Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon released an early bold predictions piece on the 2025 NFL trade deadline. The first entry of the piece featured the Jets acquiring Cousins.
“If by midseason, sophomore Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has established himself as the clear-cut guy under center there, the team could more comfortably field offers for Kirk Cousins,” Gagnon wrote.
“Since it’s impossible to speculate on injuries, though, let’s instead throw out a Jets team that has a considerable amount of salary-cap space and could well give up on Justin Fields by November.”
Hey, I get it: Justin Fields has yet to prove he’s starting quarterback worthy in this league. Despite the $30 million in guarantees the Jets dangled to snag him this offseason, the Ohio State product is firmly entrenched in “prove it” mode.
From that perspective, the Jets could find themselves thoroughly in the quarterback market at some point during the 2025 campaign.
What’s the connection here, though? It’s not as though Mr. Coffee is returning to Florham Park, NJ. It’s not like Aaron Glenn has any strong ties to Cousins—at least not from what I understand.
Granted, Cousins found himself frequently linked to the Jets this past offseason. Then again, it’s usually easier to list the teams that aren’t linked to a capable NFL quarterback who’s increasingly finding himself on the periphery of a franchise’s starting job.
It boils down to Rick Spielman.
“The Jets also employ senior football advisor Rick Spielman, who is connected to Cousins from their shared time in Minnesota,” Gagnon added.
“If the increasingly desperate Jets are competitive in spite of Fields at that stage, dealing for an established veteran from the NFC could make some sense.”
There’s just one legitimate roadblock that doesn’t make this potential marriage possible.
Square peg in a round hole
Adrian Martinez’s reason for being on the roster has little to do with his arm, and Brady Cook’s reason for battling for a spot also doesn’t involve his often-overthrowing right hand. Even veteran Tyrod Taylor, whose backup status is unquestioned, makes sense for this current Jets roster.
Kirk Cousins, on the other hand, forget about it.
Each of the New York Jets’ quarterbacks can move and has legs that work in this particular offense.
Imagine worst comes to worst: Fields is struggling mightily, and for whatever reason, Taylor is unavailable or suddenly incapable. Does anybody expect the not-even-remotely-close-to-nimble Kirk Cousins to save the day in this offense?
It’s not a secret at this point: Tanner Engstrand‘s offense will heavily rely on the rushing attack and feature quarterback-designed runs like fans have never seen before.
Add a healthy dose of RPOs and in-space/on-the-edge play-actions, and suddenly, asking an entire unit to take a 180-degree turn in the middle of the season is as unrealistic as it gets.
A Cousins acquisition could be made with an eye on 2026, to some degree, at least, but making a deal for a 37-year-old who’s signed through the 2027 season is fantastical at best. Let’s not even dig into the $57.5 million cap hits in each of the last two contractual years.
Offensive units can by no means change course in the season; tweaks and adjustments happen frequently. However, asking a unit to adopt a completely different mindset—starting at the south pole and angling towards the north pole—is something that isn’t acknowledged as foolhardy nearly enough in the sports media world today.
It just cannot happen.
Not only is it too difficult to make happen, but it’s often foolish to even try. Aaron Glenn is preaching a specific mindset to his players right now, and a healthy percentage of that communication has the scheme in mind.
Thinking you’re smart enough to alter that on the fly will run a coach out of this league quicker than Jerry Glanville’s famous league achronym: Not For Long.
If the Jets are in contention, it cannot happen purely due to a foreign scheme fit. If they’re not in contention, what’s the point in loading the cap for an aging veteran quarterback—especially when a better one was just booted out of the building?
A potential New York Jets and Kirk Cousins match is yet again a decently fitting thought, but it’s never going to happen. A guy of Cousins’s prototype does not fit this offseason.
It would take an entire offseason to make it fit.
Besides, Aaron Glenn picked Justin Fields for a specific reason. He wants his offense to push the rushing evolution (and quarterback-designed rushing evolution) forward as much as possible.
That just isn’t Kirk Cousins.