Report: Talk Of Possible Three-Team Trade Between Redskins, 49ers & Cowboys Just “Conjecture”

Update:

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk spoke with multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation “scoffed” at the idea of a potential three-team trade between the 49ers, Cowboys and Redskins and specifically referred to the report as “conjecture.”

Florio mentions this kind of deal would obviously be very complicated to sort out and there are a number of questions as to how much this makes sense for all the parties involved.

The 49ers and Redskins should be able to work out a trade QB Kirk Cousins without the involvement of the Cowboys and there’s also the issue of trading Tony Romo within the division.

Overall, Florio considers this trade to be “one of those potential transactions that feels too far fetched and too over the top to happen.”

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Clarence Hill reports that the Cowboys have not been contacted about a potential three-team trade involving Tony Romo being sent to the Redskins. According to Hill, he was given a quick response of “no” when he asked about the report.

• Mike Jones is told that the Redskins aren’t interested in Romo and would still like to work out a deal with Kirk Cousins. Jones adds that the only legitimate backup plan they have right now at quarterback is Colt McCoy.

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, citing sources informed of the potential talks, reports that the Redskins, 49ers and Cowboys could discuss a three-team trade involving QB Kirk Cousins and QB Tony Romo at some point in the near future.

According to Rapoport, the trade would send Cousins to the 49ers, Romo to the Redskins and draft-pick compensation, including the No. 2 overall pick to the Cowboys.

Rapoport adds that the proposed trade is still in the “preliminary” stages and no serious negotiations have taken place.

In regards to the 49ers’ plans at quarterback, Rapoport says that they’ve told teams: “Don’t worry. We’re going to acquire one.”

This is a really surprising report, to say the least. Three-team trades rarely take place in the NFL, especially when two teams are division rivals.

Washington and representatives for Cousins met this week to discuss a long-term extension, but the two sides are reportedly still a good distance apart. In fact, Master Tesfatsion reported that the Redskins offered Cousins $20 million per year, which is short of the $24 million he’ll make under the franchise tag this year.

The 49ers are clearly the team to watch for Cousins whether it’s a trade this year or as a potential landing spot as a free agent in 2018.

The Redskins officially placed the exclusive franchise tag on Cousins Tuesday. The exclusive tag prevents other teams from negotiating with him during free agency, but the Redskins are still fully able to trade him to another team and give him permission to speak to a team about a long-term extension.

Cousins, 28, is a former fourth-round pick of the Redskins back in 2012. He played out the final year of his four-year, $2,572,688 rookie contract that included a $472,688 signing bonus when Washington elected to use the franchise tag on Cousins that paid him $19.953 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season.

In 2016, Cousins has appeared in all 16 games and thrown for 4,917 yards while completing 67 percent of his passes to go along with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 8 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players.

Romo, 36, is entering the fourth year of his seven-year, $119.5 million contract that included $55 million guaranteed. He stands to make base salaries of $14 million (2017), $19.5 million (2018) and $20.5 million (2019).

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing or trading Romo would free up $5.1 million in available cap space while creating a staggering $19.6 million in dead money, which figures to be a huge consideration for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys could improve those figures to $14 million of cap savings and $10.7 million of dead money if they were to designate him as a post-June 1 release.

In 2016, Romo appeared in one game and completed three of four passing attempts for 29 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys.