Kirk Cousins May Be Franchised Again By Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are in yet another conundrum with quarterback Kirk Cousins. They may have to franchise their starter for another year if they cannot agree to a long term deal.

One of the recurring themes for the Washington Redskins over the past couple of offseasons has been Kirk Cousins‘ contract. The quarterback took over for the embattled Robert Griffin III during the 2015 season, and put together a spectacular season. He led the Redskins to the playoffs before being franchised by them in the 2016 offseason. In 2017, it seems like a similar scenario is playing itself out.

Cousins put together another strong campaign in 2016, and it appeared that he was in line to get a massive long term deal. However, in the final month of the season, his performance tapered off and that caused the Redskins interest in a long term deal to become lukewarm. Now, the team has another decision to make as Cousins is set to hit the free agent market.

Between February 15 and March 1 of this offseason, the team has to decide whether or not they want to re-sign Cousins to a long term agreement, let him walk, or slap him with the franchise tag again. As of right now, it appears that the latter-most option may be what the the team is leaning towards.

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According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, the Redskins and Cousins may not be able to agree on a long term deal prior to the franchise tag deadline. If that happens, the Redskins may be forced to tag Cousins once again. The kicker is that the franchise tag cost would increase by 20 percent from what it was in the previous year. In that case, Cousins would make nearly $24 million in the upcoming season, which would be a monstrous amount. Some have argued that paying that value would be foolish. However, tagging Cousins would give the Redskins one thing. Time.

If Cousins gets tagged again, the Redskins will have until July 15 to sign him to a long term deal. In that sort of deal, they could minimize the impact on the salary cap while still giving Cousins a fair deal. He seems likely to land a deal somewhere in the five year, $100 million deal, and his value should cap at $110 million, similar to the Aaron Rodgers deal. Still, the Redskins may not be able to get him to agree on that deal so early in the offseason, as lucrative long-term extensions tend to be a long process.

Regardless, the Redskins would still benefit from tagging Cousins. If they do, they will have options. The first would be to try and sign him to a long term deal. The second would be to possibly trade him to another team. Both the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams have former Redskins offensive coordinators as their head coaches. Perhaps one of them could be willing to move assets to get him, though it seems that Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers would be the better bet.

Finally, the option of having Cousins around for one more season would not hurt the Redskins. If he does well, then they could serious consider signing him to a long term deal and will have enough of a sample size to justify it. If he tanks, then they can move on from him and possibly Jay Gruden as they look to shake up the team.

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Cousins has no qualms playing on the tag, and it may keep him motivated to succeed. At the end of the day, the Redskins can only gain from tagging Cousins. If they let him walk in free agency, they will merely receive a compensatory pick for their troubles. That would be a terrible option and the front office realizes this.

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