There has always been a lot of speculation about whether or not the Washington Redskins should go out and pay Kirk Cousins long-term so he can officially become the quarterback of the franchise. There were teams, and even fan bases of the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles, that were questioning whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing for them to lock him in for the long-term.
Looking from one side, he has shown tendencies to shrink in big moments. On the other hand, this guy is above average NFL signal caller that is still just a 29-year-old quarterback that has improved a lot over the past couple of seasons as he has proven that he is a starting-caliber QB. Some fans of the Cowboys and other rivals are more than happy to have him as Redskins’ starter as they don’t believe that he is the right guy for them.
Well, the deadline for contract extensions has passed, and Kirk Cousins will play under the second franchise tag in a row that is going to pay him almost 24 million dollars guaranteed. A franchise tag is a tool that teams use so they can avoid paying the guy in the long run. But, if you use it multiple times, it is more expensive each and every year. Now, if they want to keep him next year, they will have to either pay him a lot of money for five years or to keep him for another franchise tag season where he is going to earn an astronomical amount of money for just one year.
Either way, it seems that Kirk wins as the Redskins will likely have to keep him if they want to be respectable in the NFC East. A team from Washington have backed themselves into a corner, and that has to be something that Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles love to hear.
