Kirk Cousins 'at peace' with contract saga as training camp begins for Redskins

RICHMOND, VA -- If any quarterback in America is acclimated to playing out a critical season on a one-year franchise tender, it's Kirk Cousins. Heck, the Washington Redskins are virtually making a cottage industry out of what was once considered a contractual rarity.

But with the team assembled Wednesday night for the first time with training camp about to commence, and Cousins less than two weeks removed from being blindsided by an ill-conceived and ill-fated six-paragraph public statement from team president Bruce Allen that couched Washington's long-term contract offer to him in dubious fashion and read to some like a desperate PR move, a détente of sort some was probably in order. So Washington's senior vice president of player personnel and former Super Bowl winning quarterback, Doug Williams, made a point to find Cousins in the hallway at the team hotel here between meetings.

"I did talk to Kirk a little bit last night," said Williams, an affable and beloved figure in the organization by players, coaches and front office staff alike. "I've always loved talking to him, and the thing I told him was, 'It ain't about 2016 and it ain't about 2018. It's about 2017.' And for him he just has to ease his mind. That's what I told him. 'Just go out and play, man. Just do what you've been doing and don't worry about what the media and everybody says. Just put everything behind you and go ball.'

"He's been through this before and that's the good thing about him. He's so relaxed and resolved in the decision he's made (not accepting Washington's six-year offer that only included about $29 million in additional guaranteed money on top of the $24 million he's already secured for 2017). And he has the right to make that decision and he made that decision and now it's time to go out and play football."

It was a short conversation and a small gesture, to be sure, a baby step in the ongoing awkward dance between the highly-productive quarterback -- one who continues to set franchise records -- and the organization that drafted him in the fourth round in 2012 but has always been lukewarm at best about fully committing to him. If Cousins is ever to get a $150 million ring on his finger from owner Dan Snyder, it will require the veteran to once again put up top-10 numbers in most statistical categories. From Washington's perspective it will require the organization showing Cousins the kind of verbal and non-verbal love and support that most elite quarterbacks now take for granted from the men who sign their checks.

If Cousins merely continues to be Cousins, and stays on this career trajectory, he will have even more leverage come January, the next time Washington can re-enter negotiations with him per the collective bargaining agreement. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked at all if Washington ends up franchising him a third time, even at the astonishing rate of $34.5 million. While many have opined that there is no way that Cousins would sign a long-term deal with Washington prior to February's franchise tagging period, there is still a sliver of hope, though Allen's statement certainly further complicated relations and was obviously viewed as bush league and unnecessary by those close to the quarterback.

What Snyder and Allen and this locker room have going for them is their quarterback's unwavering professionalism. He's wedded to taking the high road, and he will always present a team-first face in public. He will never engage in a war of words even if goaded and provoked (and Allen's statement certainly would have drawn a rise out of some players and some agents). Whether it's his faith, how he was raised or the fact he's never been anybody's favorite (Cousins was mildly regarded in high school and entering college, had to fight to start at Michigan State and played second fiddle to Robert Griffin III his first few years in the league), or a combination of all of the above, Cousins refuses to be a distraction.

So while the Cousins saga made for delicious fodder in the dog days of summer -- with the rest of the NFL relatively dormant -- it's kind of business as usual in Washington. If the team rises or falls in 2017, it won't be because of the quarterback's contract status, and drama is a constant at Redskins Park, anyway. Cousins is uniquely equipped to compartmentalize for now, focusing on forging relationships with an overhauled receiving corps, all the while knowing come January his contract will be first and foremost for both his agent Mike McCartney and the team.

"We had a lot of time between the end of the season and July 17 (the deadline to extend franchise players) to figure out what was the best option, and what made the most sense, and I'm at peace," Cousins told me during a chat after Washington's walkthrough Wednesday morning. "I'm ready to go play football now."

Cousins warms up on the first day of camp. USATSI

Cousins teammates, meanwhile, toggled between feigning little knowledge of their quarterback's contract affairs at all, or searching for ways to talk around it. Tight end Vernon Davis didn't want to comment on his quarterback's business – no matter how interconnected all of this is.

"I'm not going to go into that," he said when asked if he was surprised Cousins was back only on a one-year deal (he wasn't the only player to sound coached on how to handle this topic with the media).

"I really haven't paid that much attention to it, honestly," receiver Jamison Crowder said.

But all could agree, as Davis posited, that Cousins' contract wasn't going to hinder the quarterback's performance.

"I don't think there's any worries as far as that is concerned," Davis said.

Undoubtedly a natural topic of locker room conversation, the players find comfort in the fact Cousins has been through it before, and privately some were less than shocked given Snyder's proclivity in recent years to be stingy with his wallet.

Former top pick Trent Williams and corner Josh Norman -- who hit the market unexpectedly last spring -- are the rare exceptions who received top-of-the-market long-term deals from Washington lately, as Allen's job description seems largely to comprise of getting the owner to shun his old spendthrift ways and dabbling primarily in short-term, cheap gambles on free agents. (Looks good at the time of signing, but only increases the price tag when those players thrive.)

Cousins' patience and upstanding demeanor should not be taken for weakness, however, as the quarterback's staunch self-belief has been born out through his repeated rejections of lowball offers. And surely he knows that former coaches of his, like Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco or possibly Sean McVay in Los Angeles, would be among the suitors eager to pay him handsomely on the open market or possibly trade for him in 2018. He's aw-shucks, and yes-sir, but he's also nobody's fool.

He wasn't sweating the minutia of another prolonged negotiation with Washington because he knew he didn't have to. After pocketing $20 million on the franchise tag in 2016, and posting a Pro Bowl season, he was poised for another huge payday whether it be for one season, or for five.

"I trusted Mike completely, that's why I hired him," Cousins said. "If I didn't trust him, then I shouldn't have him as my agent. So I let him do his job and what's interesting with Mike is, now coming up on six seasons, he's been right so many time through the process and he's just proven himself and proven his competency. And that gives me great comfort knowing our track record and I'm going to continue to trust him going forward."

Unquestionably, this mess is on Washington's hands, having numerous opportunities to sign Cousins before and during his rise to prominence, as he stabilized the franchise during the tumultuous and ugly end to the short-lived RG3 era. He saw firsthand how Snyder coddled and incubated and showered Griffin with affection. The owner put the passer above pretty much anything else -- even the coach -- and enjoyed a degree of buttressing Cousins himself has never been privy to.

All that Cousins has done in his two full seasons as an NFL starter (2015-16) is post stats that rival those of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. Cousins ranks fourth in completions (785), third in completion percentage (68.3), fourth in yards (9,083), fourth in yards per attempt (7.91) and 12th in touchdown passes (54). Hence the somewhat ho-hum attitude of Washington brass when it comes to any concerns about Cousins performing under contract pressure.

"He was fine last year," coach Jay Gruden said in his training-camp opening press conference. "I thought he competed every day and did everything right. That's the thing about Kirk is you're never worried about his preparation. It's not going to vary from day in to day out. He's not going to come in and be a different guy every day.

"He's the same guy every day. Great competitor. Wants to get better. Understands he has a lot of room for improvement and he wants to be coached and it's fun to coach him. The contract status will take care of itself, eventually, hopefully. But right now, it is what it is and we're happy to have him for 2017."

Where Cousins has suffered at times is turnovers (his 2.0 interception percentage is decidedly middle of the pack), and that remains a focus for him.

"I want to be better in situational awareness," Cousins said bluntly.

His detractors will say Cousins isn't great on a big stage -- pointing to a playoff loss in 2015, and a season-ending defeat to the Giants in 2016 that knocked Washington from postseason contention -- yet conveniently forgetting his superior play to get the team into the playoffs in 2015 amid very tepid expectations. (Yeah, Prisco, that means you.)

Forgiveness is a tenet of Cousins' belief system, but after five years of ups and downs in Washington, there is too much to truly forget by now. And how Washington handles him moving forward. We'll see how this offense fares without Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, with McVay gone and with Gruden back to calling plays. We'll see how strongly Snyder and Allen -- publicly and privately -- stand behind their quarterback through the inevitable down spells that come with any NFL season.

We'll see if Cousins feels like the entirety of the organization is truly behind him come January, and if Snyder finally presents an offer worth countering on the table. I wouldn't bet against Cousins in this spot, and one way or another he's going to have another huge payday coming in 2018, whether in Washington or elsewhere. This wouldn't be ideal for most, but seems to suit Cousins well enough.

"I'm in a good place," Cousins said. "I think it's a healthy place for me."