Washington Redskins Options With Kirk Cousins: Reset, Respect or Revenge
By Steve Herl
The Kirk Cousin’s saga will end in one of three ways for the Washington Redskins. Here are the team’s options.
The Washington Redskins are at a crossroads with Kirk Cousins. The fan base is up in arms, the former General Manager is looking for work, the quarterback is confused, and the owner is hunkered down in his bunker apparently pulling all the strings and pushing all the buttons. All I can think of is the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin-man arrive at the castle and encounter the Wizard.
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Now that the Redskins have tagged Cousins with the franchise tag for $24 million they only have three options available. They could trade him to the San Francisco 49ers for draft picks and turn the team over to Colt McCoy for at least one year. That would give them a chance to reset and start anew during the 2018 offseason.
The team could make the decision that Cousins is their long term quarterback and sign him to a 5 year contract at $24 million per year. That would give Cousins the respect he believes he deserves, but it would burn a hole in the Redskins pocket and cap space.
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Their final option is to push the can down the road knowing they will lose him after the 2017 season and get nothing in return except the satisfaction that Kyle Shananhan had to wait a year before Cousins became his quarterback. This would be a bad look for the franchise, as they would only receive a compensatory pick for his departure.
If the Redskins do not believe that Cousins is their long term quarterback who can lead them deep into the playoffs, the only reasonable football solution is the trade with the 49ers. Of course the problem that the Redskins have created for themselves with regard to this trade is that they have lowered his perceived trade value. They did this by by hedging their bets on whether or not they have enough confidence in Cousins to sign him to a long term deal. Hopefully San Francisco wants him enough to overwhelm the Skins.
If the Redskins do not want to trade Cousins to the 49ers, they have no other football choice except to open their checkbook and sign him. The pact would likely be a 5 year deal for more money than they think he is worth. Washington has absolutely no leverage in these negotiations since Cousins could threaten to leave in the offseason if he does not get his $24 million per year.
The “Wizard of Oz” option is to let Cousins earn $24 million in 2017 while he counts the days before he gets set free to play for Kyle Shanahan. This option “saves face” in that it no one could ever say that the Redskins traded a Pro Bowl quarterback to the 49ers and it turned San Francisco’s franchise around under a coach named Shanahan. Ego often prevails over wisdom.
Next: Grading Washington Redskins Departures So Far
The Redskins are at a crossroads and must decide which way they will turn. The road names are reset, respect and revenge. Which will it be? Stay tuned. Every day is a new adventure.