Washington Redskins Future Success Is Tied To Kirk Cousins Long Term Contract

Kirk Cousins has been a catalyst for the Washington Redskins. The team must sign him to a long term deal in order to have continued success.

Since the arrival of Head Coach Jay Gruden in 2014, the Washington Redskins have made a steady improvement. The team went from a rocky 3-13 season in 2013 to a 4-12 record in 2014. Real change started in 2015 when the coach named Kirk Cousins his starting quarterback.

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Under the leadership of Cousins the Skins improved dramatically posting a 9-7 record while capturing the NFC East Championship. In the 2016 campaign the team finished with an 8-7-1 record falling just short of another playoff appearance. The Redskins did enjoy their first back to back winning seasons since the 1991-1992 teams did so under their iconic Coach Joe Gibbs.

The common denominator in these two seasons is Cousins. He has given the team stability at the most important place on the field-quarterback. The Redskins organization and their fans have searched for this level of competence since Joe Theismann. In case you forgot, his career came to an end on a crushing Lawrence Taylor hit back in 1985. That is a long time to wait.

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Cousins has been nothing short of spectacular in his two seasons as the Skins play caller. He set back to back franchise records for passing yards in a season totaling 4,166 yards in 2015 and demolished his own record in 2016 with 4,917 yards. He has 54 touchdown passes with 23 interceptions over those two seasons. He also has nine rushing touchdowns.

Cousins finished in the top ten in both completion percentage and quarterback rating and was third in yards per attempt. This shows that under his direction the offense was a threat on short and deep passing plays. That makes Cousins a nightmare for opposing defenses.

The Redskins backs and receiving corps were thankful to have Cousins leading them. There were two 1,000 yard receivers in Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, and six players that had 40 or more receptions on the season. Cousins showed that if you get open he will find you and get you the ball. While he has not reached the elite level , he has proven himself as a top 10 quarterback in the league.

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It’s time to sign Cousins to a long-term contract. With Cousins on board the team can begin to rebuild the defense through the draft. The stability at quarterback will also help in the recruiting and signing of potential free agents. A new Cousins contract would be the dawn of a bright and successful future for the Redskins. General Manager Scot McCloughan and Owner Daniel Snyder needs to write the check.

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