2017 NFL Free Agents: Latest Rumors, Predictions for Cousins, Jeffery and More

We still have a long way to go before the start of the 2017 free-agency period. Teams won’t even be able to legally contact pending free agents until March 7. They won’t be able to actually sign them until March 9 at 4 p.m. ET.

This does not mean, however, that it’s too early to begin looking ahead to some of the transactions that could take place. On the contrary, teams looking to add, re-sign or renegotiate with players have begun doing this quite some time ago.

Now, we’re going to examine some of the latest buzz surrounding pending free agents that could be hot commodities after the start of the new league year. We’ll be looking at the latest rumors surrounding guys like quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and making our own predictions for how their situations will unfold.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins

Given the relatively lackluster nature of this year’s rookie quarterback class, there should be a high demand for veteran signal-callers on the free-agent market. One of the top targets for quarterback-needy teams will be the Washington Redskins’ Kirk Cousins—should he become available.

Cousins might not be an elite signal-caller—and he deserves at least some of the blame for Washington missing the postseason this year. Yet, it’s hard to deny that he isn’t at least an above-average starter that can effectively lead an offense.

This Michigan State product has passed for more than 4,000 yards in each of his two full seasons as a starter. He has 54 touchdown passes in that span, and he has a respectable career passer rating of 93.6.

Pro Football Focus rated cousins eighth overall among all quarterbacks for the 2016 season.

The negatives for Cousins include struggles in the red zone—he passed for nearly 5,000 yards this season but just 25 touchdowns—and a bit of carelessness with the ball. He has turned the ball over 29 times over the past two seasons.

According to ESPN’s Britt McHenry, some NFL coaches believe these traits prevent Cousins from being a great quarterback:

A few coaches around league on Kirk Cousins: good, will win games but not a Super Bowl. INT doesn’t help his case. Tough ending for Skins

— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) January 2, 2017

Still, Cousins is better than what the Redskins are likely to find on the open market or in the draft, at least in the short term. It would be wise for Washington to re-sign him before the start of free agency.

The problem is that, as John Keim of ESPN.com recently pointed out, pending coaching hires could drive up Cousins’ value:

Former Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and the coach who holds that current title, Sean McVay, will interview for head-coaching positions over the next week. Not every team they’re talking to will be in the market for a quarterback, but if one or both do become head coaches for teams without a starting quarterback, then there’s no doubt they’d be interested in Cousins. And his market value would creep …

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