Kirk Cousins is expected to hit free agency on March 14, the first day of the new league year. But here's what won't happen, according to Pro Football Talk: Cousins has no plans to negotiate with potential suitors in the March 12-14 window, when it's legal for clubs to hammer out deals with impending free agents. Instead, Cousins plans to take one or more visits once free agency begins.

And there really is no rush; Cousins will be the best quarterback available and there will be no shortage of quarterback-needy teams interested in his services -- whether he signs a deal in mid-March or in the coming days or weeks. And while it sounds like Cousins might be too rich for the Cardinals' blood, the Jets, Broncos, Vikings and possibly even the Browns could be willing to pay him close to $30 million annually.

Of course, there's still a chance the Redskins use the franchise tag on Cousins even though it would be hard to call it a good-faith gesture. Which is why, according to TheMMQB.com's Albert Breer, "[Cousins'] camp will quickly file a grievance to block tag."

The reason: The spirit of the franchise tag is that a team would use it on a player they plan to try to sign a long-term deal. If no such deal materializes -- and it's not uncommon for two sides to fail to reach an agreement -- then the player is under contract for a year. In this case, if the Redskins tagged Cousins, it wouldn't be to work out a long-term deal -- they traded for Alex Smith -- but to try to trade Cousins for picks, players or both.

Of course, the threat that Cousins would file a grievance doesn't necessarily mean the Redskins won't franchise him anyway, but whatever happens, this much is a certainty: He won't be playing for Washington in 2018. 

During Super Bowl week, Cousins hinted that he'd prefer to play for a contender, which sounds reasonable.

"Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No," Cousins told PFT Live's Mike Florio at the time. "It is about winning, and that's what I want more than anything, so I'm going to be willing to make sacrifices or do what has to be done to make sure I'm in the best possible position to win, and that's what the focus is going to be."