COUSINS’ STORY HARKENS BACK TO PLUMMER’S
Reality set in as the Cardinals’ 2002 season neared its end.
Jake Plummer, Arizona’s second-round pick five years earlier, was playing on an expiring deal, and by then it became apparent the Cardinals had no plans to reup. They had no interest in keeping him around.
Others did, though.
In his final game with the team, Plummer and the Cardinals took a 37-7 beating at the hands of the Broncos in Denver. And it was there, in front of a packed crowd, that Plummer could envision the next phase of his career.
“Everyone knew I was going to be a free agent, and I remember the last game here in Denver, actually, and the fans were chanting, ‘We want Jake! We want Jake!’ ” Plummer recounted. “I was leaving that field that day (on Dec. 29). It was a nice day, probably 50 degrees, and I was like, ‘I want to play here’ because it was such a great environment.”
Two months later, after paying visits to Chicago and then Denver, Plummer weighed his options inside a hotel room not far from the Broncos’ practice facility and decided his next home. After spending the first six years of his career in Arizona, Plummer, then 28, signed with the Broncos.
Fifteen years later, Plummer’s journey has a twinge of familiarity. Kirk Cousins, a 29-year-old former fourth-round pick by the Redskins, is on the search for a new team and is being pursued by multiple franchises, including the Broncos. He is The Guy on the market this year and, much like Plummer in 2003, will have plenty to weigh in deciding his next team.
“Being from Boise, Idaho, and living in a metropolitan city like Chicago was very intriguing, but I took that out of the equation,” Plummer said of his free-agency decision. “It came down to the opportunity to play for a team that was going to contend every year
for a Super Bowl because I knew I only had a certain number of years left. The fact that (the Broncos) had been at the Super Bowl later in the ’90s and that they hadn’t gotten there since, it was intriguing to me to come in and try to right that ship and be the guy to help them get back to the playoffs and have a great opportunity to try win a Super Bowl.
“Because realistically, that’s the goal here in Denver, whereas some other organizations, that’s more of a talk-about process. … Here, from the top down, everybody was geared toward the Super Bowl, and that’s what really swung it for me.”
As the top free agent on the market in 2018, Cousins has the leverage and interest to possibly receive the biggest contract in NFL history. Some believe he could reach $30 million a year and close to $100 million in guarantees.
But money isn’t everything. Cousins is expected to visit select teams when free agency opens before making a decision, indicating he values the full package over just the pay. His plan is a rarity anymore as few players who hit the open market take visits, opting instead to agree to the best offer during the 48-hour legal tampering period before the market officially opens.
“That’s a sad thing,” Plummer said. “I’ve said it numerous times and I’m sure people don’t really believe me, but throughout my career I never expected to make the money I made. I never played for money. I played because I wanted to win and I wanted to win a Super Bowl and I didn’t care if I got paid at all. … Money was never the determining factor for me. It was a chance to play for a team that legitimately had a chance to play for the Super Bowl. And the Denver Broncos do. Coming off last year, I still think they have a great shot at winning the Super Bowl this year, legitimately, and that’s how everybody in that organization thinks.”
Plummer has often spoken of the pressure that comes with playing quarterback in Denver, where the fan base is loyal and a Hall of Famer left a legacy few, if any, could touch. But that supposed pressure is also a selling point. John Elway, the face of the franchise and, arguably, the city, is also the team’s top football decision-maker.
“He knows what it takes to not only bring in a guy that’s got that ability, but he’s also going to put every piece of the puzzle around that guy to ensure that guy’s success. Because he did it. He knows he wouldn’t be the legend