Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a league source with knowledge of the situation, reports that there haven’t been any new developments between the Redskins and franchise QB Kirk Cousins regarding a long-term extension.
Florio mentions that this doesn’t mean talks won’t pick up as we draw closer to next week’s deadline to negotiate with franchise players, but he takes this as an indication that talks will begin from scratch next week should they take place.
Yesterday, ESPN’s John Keim wrote that “a deal remains a long shot” between the two parties and one of the main issues that Cousins and his reps are looking for the $50 million fully guaranteed he could make by playing out the season and testing the open market next year.
According to Keim, the vibe in the Redskins’ front office about signing Cousins long-term appeared to change back in March after they fired GM Scot McCloughan. There’s now “a more unified voice” regarding their appreciation for Cousins and owner Dan Snyder is more involved in the situation.
Multiple sources tell Keim that Cousins was encouraged by how the spring workouts went and it’s possible that the bond between HC Jay Gruden and Cousins could benefit from Gruden calling plays this year.
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.
The Redskins franchised him for the second year in a row this past February and he’s now set to make $23.94 million fully guaranteed for the 2017 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.
We’ll have more regarding a new deal for Cousins as the news is available.
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