Washington Redskins Rumors: Kirk Cousins has team ‘sold’
Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Philip Rivers have all completed more than 65% of their passes this season, but Washington Redskins signal-caller Kirk Cousins is the league-leader with a 69.2% completion percentage in what has easily been the best season of his four-year NFL career.
The steps that Kirk Cousins has taken as the leader of the Washington Redskins have been encouraging, to say the least, and he’s made so much progress this year that the organization is willing to go all-in on him. Jay Gruden’s preference for Cousins over Robert Griffin III has been clear for quite some time, and Cousins’s completion percentage and ability to push the team into playoff contention have vindicated the previously heavily-criticized head coach.
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In fact, the whole Redskins organization’s support for Cousins is so pronounced that, according to CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora, they are “sold” on him as their franchise quarterback. Moreoever, a separate tweet from the CBS Sports insider states that the Redskins would literally franchise Cousins if it came down to it.
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As it stands right now, the 2012 fourth-round pick out of Michigan State is in the final year of his rookie contract, so there’s no doubt that the Redskins have some work to do here. It will be exceedingly interesting to see how quickly both sides come to terms, because, as per La Canfora, the Redskins have already made it clear that they want to get a contract done quickly.
Of course they do. I mean, they are, after all, “sold” on him, and it isn’t easy to find 27-year-old quarterbacks with massive completion percentages. Cousins’s 7.3 yards per attempt and 11 interceptions (2.4% INT rate) are more mediocre than impressive, but, at worst, he’s been a slightly above-average starter for the Redskins this year with the NFL’s 15th-best QB Rating.
We’ll see just how much Cousins values himself due to both his age and numbers here in 2015, and I’m sure his value would only rise if the Redskins are able to beat out the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants for the NFC East crown. It seems like the Redskins will do what it takes to prevent Cousins from hitting the free agent market, and it would be an absolute no-brainer for them to slap him with the franchise tag; buying extra time is way better than losing out on a capable NFL starter.
Dec 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) looks to pass the ball against Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. The Washington Redskins won 24-21.Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Basically, the only guarantee is that Cousins won’t hit the free agent market when his contract officially runs out in March, but I have a feeling both sides will come to terms before then.
While I’m not sold on Cousins as a franchise quarterback, he has indeed played well enough to earn being re-signed to a multi-year contract, and I wonder if the Redskins will do what the Miami Dolphins did this past offseason with Ryan Tannehill: lock Cousins up, and surround him with as many weapons as possible.
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DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, Pierre Garcon, and Jamison Crowder are talented pass-catcher, but perhaps adding another top weapon with a less-checkered injury history than D-Jax or Reed would be wise. The Redskins have much bigger needs in the secondary and on the offensive line, so that’s something to keep in mind, especially since we don’t quite know how much money Washington will have to commit to Cousins.