5 biggest free agent mistakes for the Redskins in the past five seasons

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LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins passes the ball against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter at FedExField on November 20, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

2018: QB Kirk Cousins

Before anyone gets angry, I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with the contract that Cousins signed with the Minnesota Vikings. The fully-guaranteed deal worth $30 million annually for a quarterback who has never won in the playoffs was certainly an overpay, and the Redskins were smart to dodge that.

However, their handling of the Cousins situation was another matter. They tagged him for two consecutive years and while they tried to eventually negotiate with him, the sides never came close on a deal. And when the Redskins finally were ready to make a deal, Cousins was seemingly fed up with the franchise and was content to play on the franchise tag and hit the open market.

Cousins ended up walking away from the Redskins and signing with the Minnesota Vikings. And all they got in return was a third-round compensatory pick.

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That’s the reason that this ended up being such a blunder by Washington. They let a solid starting quarterback walk away from them and get a massive contract. Had they been willing to trade him in either of the prior two seasons, they could’ve tried to fetch a king’s ransom and could’ve probably gotten a first-round pick from a quarterback-needy team. At the bare minimum, they would’ve gotten more than a late third-round pick for Cousins.

But, the team didn’t end up making the trade and Cousins walked. The team received the top compensatory pick in the 2019 draft, traded down, and turned that into running back Bryce Love and guard Wes Martin. These two could emerge as contributors, but it’s a far cry from what they could have gotten.

Hindsight is always 20-20. But the way the Cousins saga unfolded was foreseeable. The Redskins didn’t get enough for him and then tried to remedy the situation by moving a third-round pick and Kendall Fuller for Alex Smith to make up for the loss. Smith was decent at best in his first year in Washington but suffered an injury that will keep him out in 2019.

And if that’s the compensation that landed Smith, a game manager who was 34 at the time of the trade, it’s easy to imagine the Redskins landing significantly more for Cousins. All told, they ended up paying more for Smith than what they received for Cousins.

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