Here's the thing about Kirk Cousins

DENVER — Good enough.

What is good enough?

If you ask vocabulary.com, the definition of “good enough” is “adequately good for the circumstances.” (If you ask my ex-wife, the definition of “good enough” is “nothing.”) (Just kidding, I don’t have an ex-wife.)

When you break down the five-word definition “adequately good for the circumstances,” you notice that only one of the five words has anything to do with quality, while the rest all surrounds the situation.

Soon-to-be former Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is undoubtedly good. In his three years as a full-time starter, he’s boasted a 67-percent completion rate, a 2.25 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio and nearly 4,400 yards per season.

Is he good enough, though? That, as we know, depends on the circumstances.

In Cleveland, Kirk Cousins is most certainly good enough. He would just need to win about seven games to have a statue erected. In Buffalo, they shed tears for making the playoffs and brave 2-degree temperatures to greet the team at the airport. Kirk Cousins is good enough there.

For teams like the Jets, Cardinals or even the Jaguars, Kirk Cousins is good enough.

But this is not Buffalo, Cleveland, New York or Arizona, this is Denver, where the expectations are as high as the elevation.

For better or for worse, in the Mile High City, every quarterback is held up against the greatness of John Elway and Peyton Manning. In the Orange & Blue, there is only one standard for success—Super Bowl championships.

The thing about Kirk Cousins is he is not good enough for Broncos Country.

If you’re going to spend upwards of 30 million dollars a year on a quarterback, you better be damn sure you have the guy. Not for this year, not for next year, but at least for the entirety of the contract, and ideally for another contract after that.

What we know about Broncos quarterbacks in the championship era (post ’97), is that they have a short lifespan. Even, if they are good. Case in point—Jason Steven Plummer. You may know him by “Jake.”

After a fairly disappointing start to his career in Arizona, at least in terms of playoff success (one postseason win—one more than Cousins has) Plummer signed a seven-year contract to become a Denver Bronco.

After two seasons that ended in first-round losses to Peyton Manning and the Colts, in 2005, Plummer led the Broncos to a 13-3 record, a first-round bye and a subsequent beatdown of Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, giving the franchise their first AFC Championship berth since 1998.

Good, right? Not good enough.

After the team fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, Denver looked to upgrade at the position and moved up to No. 11 in the draft to select one Jay Christopher Cutler.

Despite having to look over his shoulder, though, Plummer got the Broncos out to a 7-4 start the next season.

Good, right? Not good enough.

Two straight division losses were enough for the fanbase to sour, the pressure boiled over, and the Broncos started the first-rounder. The team floundered, missed the playoffs and eventually attempted to trade Plummer to the Buccaneers. He opted to retire instead after just 10 seasons in the league.

All in all, Plummer amassed a definitively-not-good-enough 39-15 record in Denver during just three-and-a-half seasons before he was run out of town. Interestingly enough, over the last 19 years, 15 quarterbacks have started a game for the Broncos, and only one has started more than that 54-game mark from Plummer. His name is Peyton Williams Manning; he had a Super Bowl when he got here, and he reached two more, winning one other in Orange & Blue.

Kirk Cousins doesn’t have a playoff win to his name, let alone a Super Bowl ring, and history does not appear to be on his side.

In the Super Bowl era, only eight of the 52 championship-winning quarterbacks have been acquired via free agency. Five of those eight (Nick Foles, Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, Doug Williams and Jim Plunkett) were brought in to be the backup, and two of the eight (Peyton Manning and Brad Johnson) rode the coattails of an all-time-great defense to their Super Bowl victories. This leaves just one free-agent acquisition (Drew Brees) as a quarterback who was signed by his team to lead them to the promised land and was the driving force behind a Super Bowl ring.

Why is this? Because, in almost all cases, quarterbacks capable of leading a team to a championship don’t become free agents. In the case of Manning and Brees, two of the more high-profile free agents, their previous team already had their QB in waiting. In the case of Cousins, the Redskins are prepared to replace him with 33-year-old Alex Smith, who has actually won two playoff games.

With the fifth-overall pick in their pocket and one of the most talented quarterback classes in years coming out, the Broncos don’t need to break the bank for the Redskins’ sloppy seconds.

Quarterbacks that are good enough can be found in the draft; it’s up to John Elway and his team to believe in their ability to identify one.