49ers to get up-close look at potential free-agent prize Kirk Cousins

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ maybe-quarterback of the future was on the phone Wednesday morning.

“Hi, this is Kirk Cousins,” he said when he joined the teleconference. “I’m ready to do my question and answer.”

Click here to read my Thursday article.

This article has 50 Comments

  1. This offseason will be very interesting.
    If Washington doesn’t decide to protect him I would be more than happy if the niners signed him. That would allow them to get some top end talent in other areas of need, or trade for a boatload of picks that some other team will give up to get their qbotf. Both of which would exponentially speed up the rebuild process.
    Imagine getting Cousins and an Olineman via free agency, then getting an Edge rusher, DB and another Olineman in the upcoming drafts first 2 rounds.
    People seem to want to knock him but he is easily a top 10 qb and soon will be a top 5 qb when the likes of Brees and Brady retire in the next few seasons. He is a player you could win a superbowl with and is just entering his prime, where he should remain for another 6 seasons or so.

  2. “Good protection on the offensive line” Take the hint Mr. Lynch, address the line for Kirk.

    “A lot of skill-position players.” Like Pryor? Bring him in for Kirk. It would be an upgrade over Goodwin.

    “And we feel like we’ve been building something…” Bruce Allen (the guy Kirk hates) is building something.

    https://was.247sports.com/Bolt/Report-Kirk-Cousins-wont-sign-with-Bruce-Allen-still-employed-51703015

    The rest is Kirk being a good soldier. He doesn’t want to upset his teammates.

    “The more tape that Kirk puts on film that he performs well like he has the past couple weeks, the harder it will be to keep him around.”

    The better he plays, the more money he’ll command. Gruden knows or suspects that the Skins have a certain number that they won’t or can’t go over. The Skins will get outbid or try to lowball Kirk again.

    The Skins could tag him. Sure, then we could refuse to trade for him and ride out Hoyer’s contract. Cousins could block any other trades. Then Snyder pays 34 mil and gets nothing back.

    1. If cousins signs the tender. He may refuse to play under a third franchise tag and sit out 2018

    1. From The Wrath of Kahn.

      “No… no you can’t get away. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee… For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee…”

    1. Hoyer put the ball in the right spot. Kittle ran a donkey route. He needed to cut to the corner. Still, he got his hands on the ball. Drop.

      1. lol. No. Give it up. You were wrong because you’re ripping on impossible standard. Fact is you are both completely clueless to what a drop is and are clearly being disingenuous because you were called out on your BS and are more interested in ‘winning’ than being correct.

        The facts support me. The official scoring supports me. You have nothing but a CYA BS opinion while digging your hole deeper. You were wrong. Get over it. Learn from it.

        1. Watch the play again. Hoyer had to loft the ball early because the Colts brought a zero blitz, and he had to throw to the outside because the defender covering Kittle had inside leverage. Kittle had to cut to the corner, but he rounded off his break and failed to reach his landmark. Donkey route. That’s why he had to lunge for the ball. Still, he got both hands on it, and any time a receiver gets both hands on the ball and doesn’t catch it, that’s a drop. Everyone knows that.

          1. not sure what the argument is about …..but when I read, “Hoyer had to loft the ball”……..that signals bad pass

            1. “not sure what the argument is about …..but when I read, “Hoyer had to loft the ball”……..that signals bad pass”

              Maybe im misunderstanding your point.
              He had to loft the ball because the defender had inside leverage and if he doesn’t the defender had a good chance of making an interception. That would have been a bad pass. Lofting the ball, to the outside gave the offensive player a chance at a TD. That was a good pass, it would have been a tough catch but he put the ball in a place where his player can make a play and the defender could not.
              How many times have we seen that play where qb lofts it too far out of bounds? It happens all the time.

      2. It was a bad throw. You could defend Hoyer by saying Kittle ran a bad route and I might be able to buy that but it wasn’t a drop.

        1. Hoyer threw the ball to the correct spot. Kittle ran a poor route, didn’t reach his landmark, and still should have caught the ball. It was a lollipop, not a laser.

          1. I am going to respectfully disagree with you, since I have replayed that play many times. Kittle had his man beat, and all Hoyer had to do was deliver the ball. It was inaccurate. It could have been a toss and catch, but Kittle had to dive to the ground to try and prevent the ball from hitting the ground. I think he left his feet, so he was in the air while trying to catch the ball. Hoyer did not properly lead Kittle and hit him in stride. It was a very difficult attempt of catch of an errant throw.
            .
            That is how I saw it.

            1. How do you lead a player to the correct spot when you have to throw the ball before he makes his out cut?
              Hint, you have to throw to landmark as Grant stated.

          2. looks like “Sebfluenza” has mutated into general “agendus myopius syndrome” on this Hoyer vs. Kittle play…

  3. Where is everyone getting a $34 million 2018 franchise tag figure on Cousins? Right now the average top 5 QB salaries is below $27 million. Cousins earns currently $23.9 million. The Franchise tag salary is based on the top 5 QB salaries or 120% of his present salary whichever is higher. There are two QB’s up for renegotiation in 2018. Drew Brees and Sam Bradford. Both QB’s will not drive the average 5 near $34 million. I doubt either will resign above $27 million.. Brees is going to be 39 and Bradford injured once again. It’s reasonable to conclude Cousins salary will likely be based on the 120% rule which would make his salary approx. $28.6 million..

    1. It’s not about value at the QB position. It’s a penalty for tagging a player for the 3rd consecutive time. When you tag someone, it’s usually because you’re trying to resign that player and need more time. But Snyder is doing it out of spite

    2. Third year percentage is 144%, not 120%.

      $23.9M * 1.44 = $34.416M.

      And that’s the floor, btw. If the average of the Top-5 is greater than $23.9 million, he gets that as his base.

  4. Nothing is written in stone , not in today’s NFL .
    My hope is that we don’t put all our eggs in one basket . So to speak .
    IMO our team might be a 3 year rebuild , and with next year’s draft (18), we might be able to make a push , plus all that cap space .

    We have alot of holes to fill ,at primary postions . Along with their back-ups / and role players.

    Do we think that after the draft ,as many good picks as we have , will that be enough of a talent boost . Will that make us competitive or playoff capable.

    We are going to have alot of turnaround next year . Hyde , Bowman , don’t know who will be here . How many others contracts are up at the end of the year ?

    Way to early to speculate , but when we are having a season like this , I guess it’s ok to dream .

    I would love to upset ,a playoff team , cowboys , eagles . Probably make this season more bearable . That glimmer of hope,that one Brite spot .

    49er faithful forever .

  5. But, but, but, Liddle Grant says Hoyer is an A performer. Why would we downgrade to Cousins???

  6. Cousins could get injured any time before the end of the season, this is all pointless speculation.

    Hell, he could even get injured on Sunday.

    Imagine that… the future 49ers QB injured by one of his future team mates. What a can of hornets nests that would be.

    1. This blog site is all about “pointless speculation” by experts who have wrongly been denied front office and coaching positions in the league ;-)
      I’m trusting the Shanalynch army to keep the arrow pointed upwards in the rebuild process over this and the next season.

  7. Does Cousins fix what ails the Niners, self destruction? Does he fix the unwarranted penalties, dropped passes, assignment futility? Does he improve the O-line, the secondary, I will venture a guess – nope. I am not against the Cousin purchase but I am against the thought that he brings victories without fixing anything else. There again if everything was fixed would we need Cousins?

    Kittle should have caught that TD pass, and he would be the first to admit he should of. I have seen way more difficult passes caught – he dropped the damn thing get over it.

    1. There is no single solution to all those problems, I agree.

      But Cousins will fix one problem: that of a skittish QB who automatically falls over/runs in circles/backwards/delete as appropriate as soon as his internal 3 second buzzer goes off and regardless of whether there are any defensive players in a three mile radius.

  8. I say see what we have in CJ Beathard first…before pouring all that money into Cousins….
    It’s really how bad does Cousins and Shanahan want to work together?
    Does CJ Beathard become the backup to Hoyer another year.., Become the starter?..or backup to Cousins??

    I’d rather spend that money getting the oline and corner situation figured out…and an edge rusher..
    We’re like 4- 5 players away from really turning into a playoff team…But Quarterback is the most important move first

  9. Undercenter – excellent points about what voids still exist even if the Niners were to obtain Cousins. If Cousins gets another tag, even if the Niners were to match, the cost of the high draft picks for consecutive years (two top five picks back to back most likely) coupled with the inability to move up or down in the draft would kill the ability of the Niners to get quality talent to replace in other positions. In addition, if Cousins exits the Skins, to whom does Gruden II turn, Colt McCoy!!!!! Give me a break!!!! Of course the Skins could draft Darnold, Rosen, Allen, et al in the top of round 1, but then they are back to square one with a rookie QB matched with an aging squad. If the Niners only needed a QB, it would be a different story, but this starting line-up and roster has more holes than Swiss cheese, and Cousins’ acquisition can’t plug all of the leaks in the dike.

  10. Why can I never visit the links to articles on my phone or desktop?
    This site can’t be reached
    po.st refused to connect.

  11. Save all that money for Cousins and sign Kaep! Ok, just kidding of course. Just needed a little chuckle during this ongoing tragedy in my home town of Santa Rosa. Prayers to all affected.

    I’ve watched the tape numerous times. Kittle dropped the friggin ball. He’s a professional, not a HS player. Official scorers get it wrong ALL the time. DROP!!

    1. ok how about this: it was a bad throw AND a bad drop. Neither of them score an A grade. At least Kittle has the excuse of being a rookie.

      1. I agree, both can be true, but Kittle was falling to the ground while trying to get his hands under it. A better thrown ball would have been more catchable.

    2. Juan, we opened our house to my wife’s boss and her family. She got a voluntary evacuation alert so our cat received 3 dogs and 6 people. Her brother in law lived off Piner. He said it sounded like a jet engine, and he was lucky to escape. When he came back the next day, all his neighbor’s were relieved because they thought he might not have gotten out of his house in time.
      .
      Luckily she is back in her home, and now are helping him pick up the pieces. I gave him my biggest bud, it was a foot long, and he said that was the nicest thing anyone has done for him in a long time, and thanked me. Just glad I could help, and wish I could have done more. He said he really would need it.
      .
      In these trying times, football matters little, and our squabbles, while entertaining, mean nothing compared to friends and family. Hope you are safe, and family is well. Go Niners.

  12. According to Hoyer:
    “It’s a route built in for an all-out blitz. So, I’ve got to throw it before he breaks and he’s got to break for it. ”

    Either one could be at fault or you could assign blame to both. But if the pass is in the vicinity, I’m more inclined to place the fault on Kittle, especially since he got both hands on it and maybe also because I’d expect a rookie to be more likely to not run as precise a route as a veteran (Garcon for example).

        1. whine … here’s hoping you and yours are safe ..
          as well as all those going through this tragedy …

          I’m worried about family in Santa Rosa…
          with cell towers down.. it’s difficult to get
          much info on them …

          Stay strong, my friend

  13. If Kap was signed he could thread the needle into Kittle. Instead Jed sits on his hand and Kyle isn’t bold enough.

    Go Niners

  14. Hey Seb, I’ll bet the house (only because it’s still standing) that if Kaep had thrown that ball, you’d be saying it should have been caught and probably that it was an accurate, well thrown ball. ;>} I’m certainly not arguing that the throw was perfect. What I am saying is that as a pro, if the ball hits your hands, it’s catchable. If you drop a catchable ball, being a pro, it’s a drop.

    That’s very nice of you to host. We are also hosting my nephew, his fiancé and their 3 dogs and cat, much to the chagrin of my lab. He thinks I’m a trader letting the cat in the house! My wife is out volunteering at the Finley center. Godspeed to you and your family.

    1. Juan, Scooter and I disagreed on a catchable ball that Kaep threw to Vance MacDonald. He thought it was not catchable because he leaped into the air and had to twist his body. I thought that he should have caught the ball because he did try to catch it over his head, but it hit both of his hands. I thought Vance was just being Vance.
      .
      This other non catch was not ruled a drop because Kittle was trying to keep the ball from hitting the ground. No matter what, it was a difficult ball to catch, unlike Vance, who let the ball clang off his hands.
      .
      Glad to hear you hosting your nephew. He and his fiance are very lucky to have an uncle like you. We still have a couple staying with us, and only one dog, but our cat refuses to emerge from under the bed.

  15. Kaep threat the needle? Lol! He’d have trouble throwing the ball into the Grand Canyon! Come on now!

    1. Juan, that is a duplicate troll. Thought that site monitoring frowned on catfishing, but they should have also banned many for spewing expletives. Guess anything goes, on this site.

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