NFL Notes: Quarterbacks, Lions, Redskins

Quarterbacks

• Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentions that Kirk Cousins could end up being an interesting case study for quarterback contracts, given that he’s set to play out the year under another franchise tag.
• Cousins will have made $44 million after the last two years, and could make another $28 million if transition tagged next year and as much as $34 million if franchised again, which highlights the value of quarterbacks going year to year.
• Fowler believes the games best quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger could easily make over $30 million per year if they went this route and stayed healthy.
• The issue with quarterbacks going year to year is that an injury could have a huge impact on earning potential.

Lions

Lions WR Golden Tate mentioned during an appearance on “NFL Total Access” that it’s “imperative” the team sign QB Matthew Stafford to a long-term extension as soon as possible.

“They gotta get that done,” Tate said, via the Detroit News. “I think you have to lock him up ASAP. Don’t even leave a chance that he’s going to hit the free-agent market.

“He’s an excellent athlete, a great leader in the locker room, and with some help the guy is one of the best in the league.

“I’m a strong believer in Matt. I hope I have a chance to play with him for the rest of my career, hopefully here in Detroit.

“They gotta get that done. He deserves it. He does everything right. You don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble. He balls-out. He’s tough as nails. He’s what you want in a quarterback.

“If you don’t have a quarterback in this league, you don’t have a chance, in my opinion.”

Redskins

• Matt Miller of B/R is just the latest to report that a deal between the Redskins and franchise QB Kirk Cousins is unlikely to be in place before Monday’s deadline.
• As for as Miller can tell, there’s nothing happening between the two sides right now and he expects Cousins to hit the free agent market in 2018.
• There’s reportedly still some internal disagreement in the Redskins’ organization about paying Cousins. (NFLTR)