The ongoing contractual saga between Washington and quarterback Kirk Cousins is a considerable subplot yet again this week, with the 49ers, coached by former Redskins coordinator Kyle Shanahan, in town. Shanahan's desire to pursue Cousins in the offseason is an open secret around the NFL.
Ultimately, Cousins is very likely headed to a tag of some sort -- franchise or transition -- for the third straight year in 2018, as he continues to play well for a team that is off to a solid start, but that need not have been the case. Ownership's unwillingness to entertain several team-friendly options to sign Cousins in the past have put them once again in a bind.
According to multiple league sources, Redskins' brass were very interested in signing Cousins to a long-term extension shortly after he took over for Robert Griffin III as the full-time starter in 2015. At that point, some in the organization strongly supported proposing a five-year, $40 million deal to the former fourth-round pick. However, team president Bruce Allen and owner Daniel Snyder did not approve of such a measure; it is unclear if Cousin's camp would have agreed to such an offer, though they likely would have considered it and other models given Cousins' limited starting experience and small contract at the time.
Cousins went on to throw for over 4,000 yards with 29 touchdowns and he ended up signing a franchise tag that offseason worth $20M. Prior to signing that tag, however, league sources said the Redskins could have secured Cousins to a three-year deal worth between $19M-$20M per season, with roughly $40M guaranteed. Ownership declined, the sources said. Cousins was franchised again this season, bringing his total compensation to $44M the past two years. If he is on the transition tag in 2018, that would cost $29M, and bring his three-year earnings to over $73M (instead of $60M), and if he plays on the franchise tag next season that would cost around $34M, for a three-year total of $78M.
Simply letting Cousins walk as an unrestricted free agent -- getting only a compensatory pick at the end of the third round in 2019 in return -- is unfathomable at this point. Tagging him as a precursor to a blockbuster trade is certainly an option, though teams are often remiss to give up a trove of picks and pay a player top-of-the-market money, as would have to be the case in this situation.
