My Advice for the Redskins: Think Long and Hard
By Richard Rogers
The Washington Redskins organization is set to begin contract negotiations with Kirk Cousins for the second straight season. Publicly, the team says they want Kirk on a long term deal, but according to Team President, Bruce Allen, contract talks have yet to begin. There has been a ton of speculation and parsing of words as to how Kirk feels, what the team thinks, and what Scot McCloughan may have said to a writer. There have also been talks of the team exploring trade options for Kirk. Who knows what’s really going on in the Redskins front office, but this we do know, the Redskins are at a crossroads.
Cousins is coming off of two record setting seasons, one of which ended in a playoff berth. Kirk was the league’s second ranked regular season passer in 2016. We all know that Kirk has been a statistical beast these last two years. But how does the team feel about Kirk’s performance the last three games of the season? Did Kirk cost himself a long term deal altogether or just a few million dollars? Bruce Allen strikes me as a shrewd business man. He will not “overpay”, despite what McCloughan said last off-season. I believe Allen knows exactly how much Kirk is worth and what he probably could get on the open market. From Kirk’s vantage point, he’s gone on record to say that he’s not looking to be greedy, but to be paid fair market value for a quarterback of his ilk, and I’m certain he wants to be paid like a top five quarterback.
The Redskins have a franchise defining decision to make in the coming weeks or months. What is the value of Kirk to this franchise? He’s a very good quarterback who is capable of putting this team in a position to win every week. But he’s yet to mature into that unequivocal leader in the field. He fades at times, and then gets hot. He can put together a complete game like the one against the Green Bay Packers or he can be “meh” like he was against the Giants. Here’s the thing, this organization has not had a quarterback of Cousins’ ability in Dan Snyder’s reign as owner, and that says a lot. We’ve not been here before in over two decades. The Redskins should consider all options, including life without Kirk and what that could mean. Is he replaceable without a major step back? That would mean that Gruden is smarter than many think. I am a great believer in the idea that talent trumps coaching, but good quarterbacking is hard to find in this league.
The Redskins are at a crossroads and it has been my belief all along that Dan Snyder is ultimately the one that has to close this deal. He has to go to Kirk, sit down with him and give him the keys to the “kingdom”. After the meetings with Scot, Jay, and Bruce, it should be Dan that gets it done. With an above average quarterback in place, this team and fan base can move on and start to REALLY get to the business of building a champion. If Cousins moves on or even plays on the tag, more questions will swirl, more uncertainty will grow. So I would advise the Redskins to consider all possibilities and what’s best for a franchise that hasn’t had a really good quarterback since 1991.