Cousins will get no kisses
Jets fans expected to give QB an earful for offseason snub
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kirk Cousins is coming to MetLife Stadium as a villain in purple.
During the offseason, the Vikings quarterback was hotly pursued by the Jets, who offered a massive three-year, $90 million deal to be the man to lead the struggling franchise. Instead, Cousins chose to go to Minnesota, signing a deal worth $6 million less.
The details of his free agency journey after six years in Washington were captured in a documentary series recently posted by the Vikings. New York-area media blasted him, determining he had used the Jets as leverage, and he’ll undoubtedly get plenty of boos from scorned fans when he takes the field Sunday. He’s ready for it all.
“Criticism is going to be a part, especially when you’re going into an opposing team’s media climate,” Cousins said. “They’re going to find ways to criticize.”
The way everything turned out, Jets fans can’t be too disappointed by the snub. After being turned down by Cousins, they focused fully on the draft and swung a stunning deal with the Colts to move up to No. 3 overall and ended up grabbing USC quarterback Sam Darnold.
“Either you get him or you don’t,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We didn’t have him, and we are happy with Sam. I’m sure they are happy with Kirk.”
Cousins has the Vikings off to a 3-2-1 start and has thrown 12 touchdown passes and three interceptions. His 185 completions rank second in the NFL, one behind the Colts’ Andrew Luck.
The Jets know in the back of their minds that Cousins could have been doing that for them. Still, they insist there are no hard feelings or a thirst for revenge.
“I don’t pay any attention to that,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “The guy’s a competitor. He came from a position that he didn’t really like and made the most of it. I don’t hold anything against him.”
Meanwhile, Darnold has shown nice progress the last few weeks and has helped make the Cousins situation a distant memory. He was 24-for-30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a 42-34 win over the Colts last week. His 80.0 completion percentage was the highest by a Jets rookie in a single game.
“Yeah,” the 21-year-old Darnold said, “everything worked out for the best, I think.”
Home cookin’
The Jets are looking to sweep a three-game homestand after victories over the Broncos and Colts. And they’ll try to do it against a team they’ve never lost to at home. They’re 8-2 in 10 alltime meetings with the Vikings, including 5-0 at home.
Thriving Richardson
The Vikings are tied for fifth in the NFL with 18 sacks, and defensive end Danielle Hunter is tied with the Texans’ J.J. Watt for the NFL lead with seven.
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, a 2013 first-round draft pick by the Jets, has been a boost to an already stout front four. He’s tied for eighth in the NFL with 10 quarterback hits and has taken on more double-team blocks than he expected, allowing Hunter and other teammates more space to disrupt the opposing backfield.
The last two years of Richardson’s tenure with the Jets were rocky, but after a one-season stop in Seattle, he has felt settled in Minnesota despite playing on a one-year, prove-it contract.
“A good situation, a good team, good family-oriented guys, good coaching staff,” Richardson said. “Can’t really beat it.”