Kirk Cousins to the Denver Broncos could reshape AFC West

Quarterback Kirk Cousins isn’t going back to the Washington Redskins in free agency. If he signs with the Denver Broncos, that could reshape the AFC West.

With the Alex Smith trade from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick, this absolutely changes how the quarterbacking market will shake up in 2018 NFL free agency. No player does this impact more than former Washington starter Kirk Cousins.

Cousins had been franchised tagged twice by the Redskins in 2016 and 2017. He had brought stability to the quarterback position in Washington the Redskins haven’t seen since honestly the first Joe Gibbs‘ era in D.C. However, Washington was never in love with the guy and didn’t want to commit to him long-term. By trading for Smith, the Redskins are getting an older, more athletic and less expensive version of Cousins.

That being said, Cousins will get paid handsomely on the open market this spring. One team that might be the front-runner for his services is the Oakland Raiders‘ AFC West rival Denver Broncos. What would that do to the AFC West should Cousins link up with John Elway and the Broncos organization going forward?

Simply put, Denver will get back to respectability. The Broncos have been horrendous at quarterback since Peyton Manning began to rapidly decay in the middle of the 2014 NFL season. His last season in Denver saw the Broncos win a Super Bowl, but his skill set completely deteriorated. While the Broncos have been good defensively since winning Super Bowl 50, rancid quarterback play has had them miss the playoffs the last two years.

Teams like the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets might have more available cap space to sign other pieces in addition to Cousins this offseason. However, Denver is a great landing spot for him because the Broncos could win both now and later. Cousins isn’t yet 30 years old and should be a franchise quarterback for the next five to six years. That would give Elway enough to rebuild the team if he needed to should he want to win a Super Bowl with Cousins.

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Should Cousins sign with Denver, here would be the starting quarterbacks in the AFC West for at least the next few years: Cousins in Denver, Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, Philip Rivers with the Los Angeles Chargers and Derek Carr for the Raiders. Carr, Cousins and Rivers have all been to a Pro Bowl. Mahomes was the former No. 10 overall pick Kansas City in 2017.

This could end up being one of the best quarterbacked divisions in football. It might even eclipse the NFC South, as both Cam Newton and Jameis Winston are inconsistent passers. By the Broncos adding Cousins, all that does is make winning division games harder and more important for the Raiders.

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Rivers is probably the best of the four, but he is also the oldest. Los Angeles could look to draft Rivers’ replacement here very soon. His hall of fame career is definitely winding down. So who would emerge as the best quarterback in the division after Rivers’ retirement?

It could be any of the other three guys. Carr has the most starting experience in the division. He has a bit of the it-factor, as his dynamism and charisma certainly elevate his play. Cousins is the most accurate passer of the three. He can make all the throws in harsh climates. Mahomes has a cannon for a right arm. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops.

Hopefully, all four quarterbacks in the AFC West push each other to be better. Have the cream rise to the top. With the NFC having more star quarterbacks than the AFC, adding Cousins to the Broncos only makes the AFC West better and the teams that play in that division more battle tested.

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Perhaps more than anything, Cousins’ arrival in Denver makes all four teams in the AFC West playoff viable. It wouldn’t be shocking if any of the four teams win the division in the next two years. Kansas City could three-peat in 2018, but expect more balance in the AFC West than we have seen in sometime.

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