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It went viral, and that is what it’s all about these days.
The story was a bonanza for ESPN, mentioned all over the World Wide Web.
“The Jets are willing to pay ‘whatever it takes’ to lure quarterback Kirk Cousins to New York, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini,” wrote Chris Chavez on Sports Illustrated’s website.
“The New York Jets are reportedly willing to pay ‘whatever it takes’ to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, according to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini,” wrote Mike Chiari for Bleacher Report.
“The Jets are apparently prepared to go all in on Kirk Cousins,” wrote the CBSNewYork website. “ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported Monday that sources have told him the Jets want the veteran quarterback so badly that ‘they’re willing to pay whatever it takes.’”
“As the Minnesota Vikings consider which direction to take at the quarterback position, one factor is likely to be the price tag that it would take the land Washington free agent Kirk Cousins,” wrote Matt Coller for 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. “According to ESPN reporter Rich Cimini, the New York Jets are willing to pay ‘whatever it takes’ to land Cousins.”
You get the idea. This is what you need to do these days to stay viable in journalism – write stories that get a lot of clicks, a lot of references. This story hit the jackpot.
So is this how the Jets are thinking?
“I don’t think that phrase reflects the thinking of team decision makers,” a league source familiar with the Jets thinking told me.
While I think the Jets are interested in Cousins, this “whatever it takes” stuff isn’t a great approach.
What kind of way is that to run a business?
And it also sets you up to look really bad if it doesn’t work out.
Let’s say the Jets offer Cousins $30 million-a-year, as many have speculated they might do, but he ends up taking $27.5 million-a-year to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, the Jets will have egg on their face.
If you are supposedly willing to pay “whatever it takes,” but another team paying less, lands the players, that is a major PR hit.
So why set yourself up for that kind of scenario which would be terrible for the image of your team?
So I doubt anybody from the Jets said that, and once again, I want to reiterate, the writer didn’t say his “sources” were from the Jets.
So can the Jets land Cousins?
I think it’s a long-shot. Aside from wanting to get paid handsomely, he wants to win, in order for the Jets to win, they need to add a lot of pieces this off-season, and giving Cousins $30 million-a-year would hurt their ability fill their myriad needs. There core is average right now.
Also, while people are making a big deal about Jeremy Bates running an offense that Cousins likes, that doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk that Cousins wants to work with Bates. I’m sure Mike and Kyle Shanahan will give Cousins some insight into Bates, who was out of the league for four years. Bates might not be Cousin’s cup of tea.
And the more I snoop around, the more I get the sense that the Jets aren’t willing to play “whatever it takes” to land Cousins.
February 21, 2018
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