You can’t put March 13, 2018, alongside Jan. 12, 1969, in Jets history just yet, but the date already looks significant for the franchise.
That was the day Kirk Cousins’ agent informed the Jets his client would be visiting the Vikings first, a sign he would probably sign with the Vikings. That call set off a series of events that eventually led to the drafting of Sam Darnold, a potentially franchise-changing move.
The Jets now get to see Cousins on the opposite sideline Sunday as his Vikings visit MetLife Stadium. The visit from Cousins is a good time to revisit the Jets’ pursuit of the star quarterback and the dominoes that fell when he rebuffed them.
The fact Cousins would likely be available was a widely held belief last year after the Redskins used the franchise tag on him for the second straight season. It looked like Cousins and the Redskins were heading for a divorce and he was in the back of the Jets’ decision-makers minds all of last year as they also evaluated the college quarterbacks.
A few days before the Super Bowl, the Redskins traded for Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, confirming they were going to part ways with Cousins.
The Jets prepared to make Cousins the richest player in the game. They offered him a fully guaranteed three-year, $90 million contract.
A documentary Cousins made about his free-agency process showed the moment he found out from Mike McCartney, his agent, that the Jets offered $30 million a year. He told his wife immediately that McCartney could now use that to get the Vikings to up their offer, a sign he was never seriously considering the Jets unless Minnesota did not come close. The Vikings eventually offered a three-year, $84 million deal that Cousins took.
Jets coach Todd Bowles said there was not a sense of disappointment around the Jets when Cousins turned them down.
“It’s never disappointing in free agency,” Bowles said Monday. “You know you have a chance at somebody. That doesn’t guarantee you anybody. You just move on. We had a Plan A, B, C and D. You just move on to the next phase of the plan.”
The Jets immediately pivoted to Plan B after Cousins said no. They re-signed Josh McCown and signed Teddy Bridgewater. They also now had money freed up to land other free agents like Trumaine Johnson (five years, $72.5 million) and Avery Williamson (3 years, $22.5 million).
With two veteran quarterbacks in place, the Jets also amped up trade discussions with the Colts that had started weeks earlier. Vice president of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger led the trade talks for the Jets while general manager Mike Maccagnan hit the scouting trail. He went to Baker Mayfield’s pro day March 14 and then Josh Rosen’s on March 16.
A day later on St. Patrick’s Day, the Jets pulled off the deal with the Colts, sending their first-round pick, two second-round picks and a 2019 second-rounder to Indianapolis for the No. 3-overall pick.