As reported on Sunday night, Kirk Cousins was Atlanta-bound on Monday and it appeared as though there would be a marriage between the Falcons and the veteran quarterback. The Falcons were always looked at as the best trade partner for the Chicago Bears who are looking to unload Justin Fields so they can pave the way to draft Southern California's Caleb Williams, whom many view as the future signal-caller of the Bears.
I can’t wait to see the final tally of how much money Kirk Cousins has made in his NFL career. My man probably still ain’t fully spent his first NFL check 😂 https://t.co/xbHvDRiC31
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 11, 2024
The top two spots for Fields were Atlanta and Las Vegas. With Cousins agreeing to a $180 million contract with the Falcons on Monday, that door is closed. It also appears as though Vegas dried up faster than the desert heat as the Raiders agreed to terms with former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew. Minshew will ink a two-year, $25 million contract on Wednesday afternoon once the league year begins.
Those agreements leave Chicago in a predicament. It does not make fiscal or practical sense to have Williams and Fields on the roster at the same time and dedicate that much money to the quarterback position. If the Bears cannot unload Fields before the draft and get sufficient consideration for him, it would be better to stick with Fields and trade the first pick for the King's Ransom. They could trade down in the first round, say to the New York Giants, who have two second round selections along with the sixth pick of the first round.
It is widely speculated that the G-Men are pounding the table and praying that they can get Jayden Daniels from LSU. He might not be there at six with the Patriots looking for a fresh starter for the Jerod Mayo Era with the third pick.
I have been advocating for this since I met Caleb Williams at the combine in Indianapolis last week during his press conference, where he sounded like a spoiled little Diva who did not want to do anything at the combine, like throw passes or take medical examinations.
With Atlanta and Las Vegas out of the mix, and New England agreeing to terms with stop gap quarterback Jacoby Brissett, it takes the Patriots out of the veteran arms race as well. Brissett agreed to a one-year deal for $8 million. Brissett might be the present, but he is clearly not the future and his one-year commitment reflects that.
Should New England draft Daniels or another quarterback with the third pick, it would definitely shut that door as well. New England has been tied to Jayden Daniels and receiver Marvin Harrison. They will more than likely go with Daniels as next season's quarterback class is not as deep as this season.
Minnesota and Denver both need a starting quarterback, but are going to apparently get one in the first round of the draft as many mocks have JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix going to Minnesota and Denver respectively. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network announced late Monday night that the Vikings were going to add veteran Sam Darnold to their quarterback room. He will keep the seat warm for whichever rookie they select with the 11th pick of the draft.
New England, meanwhile, diluted the trade market for Chicago as it traded Mac Jones to Jacksonville for a ham sandwich and a side of fries. They actually traded a former first round selection and starter for the team, for a sixth-round pick. Chicago was hoping to stockpile picks in exchange for Fields and that does not appear to be the case right now. The market has definitely dried up.
Chicago executives knew that this was a possibility weeks ago. They should have made a trade at the combine and agreed to the deal, pending approval by the league on Wednesday, the first day that trades can be consummated. However, they held out for more and teams started looking at other alternatives.