Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins has been the subject of numerous trade rumors this offseason. With the 2017 NFL draft approaching a week from now, any offseason deal would probably happen between now and then. A deal after that is possible, but a chance to get a 2017 pick would seem to mean it’s approaching now or never time.
While Cousins has denied asking for a trade, and Washington has denied a lot of the rumors, there is one thing that is very clear. Cousins wants a long-term contract. That’s not entirely shocking, but he’s tried to make that part pretty clear.
He did so again in a recent chat with MMQB’s Peter King (audio). He told King that he loves the Washington organization, but he also made it clear that he wants a long-term deal.
“I want to be where I’m wanted, and that’s what I’ve said all along,” Cousins told King. “When a team is willing to step up and commit to me fully for the long haul, then why would I want to be anywhere else?”
There has been a lot of speculation that Cousins and Washington are far apart in contract negotiations. The team has given him a ton of guaranteed money through two straight years of using the franchise tag. They could use the tag a third time next year, but that would be up over $34 million in a base salary. Anything is possible, but that seems highly unlikely.
Kyle Shanahan has had plenty of positive things to say about Kirk Cousins in the past. He has avoided discussing him since becoming 49ers head coach because of concerns about tampering. The 49ers face Washington this year, and it will be fun to see if Shanahan and Cousins meet and chat at some point on the field. The game is going to be at FedEx Field, so maybe Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen do what they can to keep Shanahan away from the QB! Or maybe they try and finagle something so they can accuse Shanahan of tampering. There are layers of intrigue, people!