The Kirk Cousins sweepstakes might finally be narrowing.
According to a report from ESPN.com's Adam Schefter, the final four teams who are expected to battle for the services of the former Washington quarterback are the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings.
Washington agreed to trade for Alex Smith earlier this offseason, reportedly agreeing to sign him to a four-year, $94 million contract ($71 million guaranteed) as part of the deal. There were some rumors that the team might still use the franchise tag on Cousins in an effort to extract some compensation for his services in a trade, but that is looking less and less likely. He is going to hit the open market, and he is going to get paid a whole lot of money.
Here's a quick breakdown of where each of the four rumored teams stands in terms of 2018 cap space (per Spotrac), quarterbacks currently under contract for the 2018 season, and draft positioning.
Denver Broncos
Cap space: $26,705,805
QBs: Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Chad Kelly
Draft: Picks No. 5, 40, 71, 99, 106, 109, 142, 163, 182, 225
The Broncos will have to do a bunch of maneuvering if they want to make a competitive offer to Cousins. They rank just 19th in the NFL in available cap space this offseason. They've already communicated an intention to hang onto Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, which limits their options in terms of creating more room under the cap.
One of the moves they are reportedly considering is cutting ties with cornerback Aqib Talib, which would enable them to create an extra $11 million in cap space. Letting go of running back C.J. Anderson is also an option, a move that would add another $4.5 million in space. Those two moves alone get the Broncos in the neighborhood of the kind of space they need to make an offer to Cousins and still be able to fill out other holes on their roster.
If they come up short in the chase for Cousins, they can always select a QB with one of their early picks or go another year with Siemian and/or Lynch under center.
Arizona Cardinals
Cap space: $23,223,161
QBs: N/A
Draft: Picks No. 15, 47, 79, 97, 134, 152, 233, 254
The Cardinals have even less cap space than the Broncos, ranking 21st in the NFL. (That hasn't stopped Larry Fitzgerald from trying to recruit Cousins to Arizona.) CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has been reporting that they will cut ties with Tyrann Mathieu at some point this offseason; doing so prior to June 1 doesn't create a lot of maneuverability under the cap, but if they designate him a post-June 1 release that helps a bit more. Restructuring the contracts of players like Chandler Jones or Patrick Peterson would help as well, but given the future commitments the Cardinals already have on their books, that could be a dangerous game.
Several mock drafts have the Cardinals targeting a quarterback with the No. 15 overall pick, which would likely mean taking the fourth or fifth QB off the board, if the draft plays out as expected.
New York Jets
Cap space: $94,883,128
QBs: Christian Hackenberg, Bryce Petty, Joel Stave
Draft: Picks No. 6, 37, 49, 72, 107, 157, 179
Only the Browns have more cap space than the Jets this offseason. All that money is how the Jets will be able to make the rumored offer that would give Cousins $60 million ... in the first year of his deal alone.
The Jets don't necessarily have the kind of infrastructure that would allow Cousins the kind of success he experienced in Washington, but that is a whole lot of cash to turn down. Even after offering Cousins such a deal, the Jets would still have more cap space available than the Broncos and Cardinals, though, so they could easily go out and spend even more money to ensure that he has everything he needs in order to be successful. That, plus three of the top 50 picks, would help the Jets make a quick turnaround heading into the 2018 season.
Minnesota Vikings
Cap space: $50,901,861
QBs: Kyle Sloter
Draft: Picks No. 30, 62, 94, 167, 204, 213, 218
The Vikings, like the Jets, do not need to make any moves in order to create enough space to sign Cousins to a reasonable contract. Unlike the Jets, the Vikings have a few other options at the position.
They supposedly will not use the franchise tag on Case Keenum, but that doesn't mean they can't re-sign him. They can bring back Sam Bradford. They can turn the job back over to Teddy Bridgewater.
The Vikings also have one of the top wide receiver duos in the league with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, as well as an excellent tight end in Kyle Rudolph. They still need help along the offensive line, but they could address that in the draft and with whatever left over free-agent money they have after signing Cousins to a deal.
This destination has been heating up over the last week or so, with the Vikings likely considered the favorite to land Cousins' services at this point.
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