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John Keim, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Playoff games alter Kirk Cousins' market, but plenty of possibilities remain

The quarterback for one team announced his intentions to return. The quarterback for the other team made a strong statement as to why he should be back.

That, in a roundabout way, leads to a question regarding Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins: Did the market for him change? Pittsburgh (if Ben Roethlisberger retired) and Jacksonville were listed as potential next stops for Cousins if he leaves Washington. After Jacksonville beat the Steelers on Sunday, it's natural to wonder if that market shrunk by two teams.

It's hard to say what Jacksonville will do -- and perhaps the Jaguars don't even know. Blake Bortles hasn't stopped them from reaching the AFC Championship Game; one week after scoring 10 points and averaging 3.9 yards per play against Buffalo, the Jags' offense scored 38 and gained 6.2 yards per play against Pittsburgh. If not for their offense, Jacksonville would have lost.

The question is, will Bortles' play be enough for the Jags to continue with him? The Jags picked up his option at $19 million for 2018, but they can release him before the start of the new year with no penalty (similar to what the Redskins did with Robert Griffin III).

If they lose to New England, would spending perhaps another $7 million or more per year on Cousins make the difference? Thing is, if Eli Manning somehow becomes free, he'd be a possibility because of his former coach Tom Coughlin's role as Jacksonville's executive vice president of football operations. Trading for Alex Smith, who costs only $17 million against the cap next season if a team trades for him, also would be an option for any team in the Jaguars' situation.

But the Jaguars have little cap room (about $27 million right now) and that would make a run at Cousins difficult -- even if they cut Bortles. Clearly they could afford Cousins if they wanted, but it would limit what else they could do -- in 2018 and perhaps in the future. So it could be that after this run, they hold tight on Bortles and add a couple more pieces with the money they'd have to spend on Cousins.

After Pittsburgh's loss, Roethlisberger said he planned on playing again next season. If that holds true -- Joe Gibbs once told us he intended to return for 2008 -- then Pittsburgh would be out.

So that means, as of now, the clear options aside from Washington remain Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, the New York Jets and Cleveland. One -- or more -- of these teams will draft a quarterback, perhaps in the first round. Smith and Case Keenum could be in play for one of these teams, if the latter doesn't stay in Minnesota. Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and Tyrod Taylor also could be available -- and less expensive -- and serve as stopgaps while a young quarterback develops.

Though the playoffs have shown that teams can go far without elite quarterbacks, it takes a top defense to do so. That's why, short of having one, teams will still spend on passers. But Cousins, viewed as the top free-agent quarterback if he indeed becomes available, will have a market. But as the Jaguars' situation shows, it's hard to know -- with free agency two months away -- exactly who that market will include.

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