NFL Network analyst: Better than 50 percent chance Kirk Cousins leaves Washington this year
By Dan Steinberg February 22 at 8:41 AM
Kirk Cousins in October. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
Many people are saying things about Kirk Cousins and his future in Washington. Here are some of them.
‘A greater than 50 percent chance that he’s not with the Redskins next year.’
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah speculated on a San Diego radio show this week that Cousins could be traded to San Francisco in the near future.
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to get a long-term deal done, and I think there is, I would say, a greater than 50 percent chance that he’s not with the Redskins next year,” Jeremiah said. “So you’ve got the combine coming up, all these teams will be together. I would not be shocked, at all, if we saw a Kirk Cousins to San Francisco trade go down at that point in time. And now you’ve got the Dominoes really starting to fall. …
“From what I hear, they’re not, in [Redskins Park], totally 100 percent sold on Kirk to give him the money that he could get,” Jeremiah said later. “So I don’t think they come to a long-term deal, and I don’t think they can really afford to franchise him next year for a third year. So the feeling is hey, if we’re going to move on, we need to get something in exchange for him. And San Francisco would seem like the likely landing spot there. So we’ll see what happens. If they believe in Colt McCoy like some people believe they do, they make that trade, they end up with the second pick in the draft. Might have to part with their own pick, no. 17, but they could wind up with the second pick in the draft. And then they have to decide if they want to draft one of these kids, or whether you go with Colt McCoy and just draft somebody else at that spot.”
‘He is straight gangsta’
Longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter said on ESPN’s “NFL Insiders” program that Cousins might be among the most mercenary NFL players he’s encountered.
“The one thing I love about Kirk Cousins is that he is straight gangsta,” Trotter said. “Not -er. Straight gangsta. Ends with an ‘A.’ Owners are used to always having the leverage against players, and players will often capitulate for money. Kirk understands what his value is, and he is not going to short-sell himself. He looks at it now as look, I got $20 million last year, I’ll get 24 this year, that’s $44 million over two years. And then I go out on the free agent market next year, where if he has another season [similar] to what he had last year and this year, he can look to get guarantees at a minimum of $40 to $50 million. Which means he will have made close to $90 million to $100 million over three years. I think he’s okay with that. …
“The beauty here for me is you have a player who understands his market value, understands leverage and is willing to bet on himself and is not going to take less than what he can get,” Trotter went on. “He is maximizing his earnings. And at times, I’ve been criticized before [when] I would say that a contract I felt wasn’t good, in part because I felt a player had leverage and didn’t maximize it. Kirk is doing it. Short of Darrelle Revis, he may be the most mercenary player in the NFL that I’ve ever been around in my two decades.”
‘Give him a long-term deal and just end the problem.’
NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest implied that Cousins is better for the Redskins than any quarterback they could find in the draft.
“I think he has grown in this system,” McGinest said. “I think he’s one of these players that gets better and better as he’s involved in a system, like Jay Gruden’s. It’s very difficult and complicated. I think he understands that now. He plays great within that system. Yes, [you’d like] more consistency, throughout the year, for an entire 16 games. And you want to see him put the team on his back at times and make certain throws and take over football games. Of course.
“Look around the NFL; it’s not flooded with great quarterbacks,” McGinest said. “Look at the draft. You can’t find a guy right now that you’d say you would probably take over Kirk Cousins in the draft. This is a guy that’s at home, he plays great within the system, he is continuously getting better. Give him a long-term deal. Don’t play around with it. Because you’re not going to keep paying him [under the tag]. Give him a long-term deal and just end the problem.”
Romo has a higher ceiling
Analyst Cris Carter said on FS1 this week that if he were the Redskins, he would take Tony Romo over Cousins, at least in the short term.
“If you ask me over the next three years … I’m gonna go with Romo,” he said. “I really am. I’m gonna go with Romo, because I know what Romo can do, and I believe his ceiling is still higher. … I’m worried about the upside. Is it a system for Kirk Cousins? Tony Romo, I know he’s still a Pro Bowl quarterback.”
By Dan Steinberg February 22 at 8:41 AM
Kirk Cousins in October. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
Many people are saying things about Kirk Cousins and his future in Washington. Here are some of them.
‘A greater than 50 percent chance that he’s not with the Redskins next year.’
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah speculated on a San Diego radio show this week that Cousins could be traded to San Francisco in the near future.
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to get a long-term deal done, and I think there is, I would say, a greater than 50 percent chance that he’s not with the Redskins next year,” Jeremiah said. “So you’ve got the combine coming up, all these teams will be together. I would not be shocked, at all, if we saw a Kirk Cousins to San Francisco trade go down at that point in time. And now you’ve got the Dominoes really starting to fall. …
“From what I hear, they’re not, in [Redskins Park], totally 100 percent sold on Kirk to give him the money that he could get,” Jeremiah said later. “So I don’t think they come to a long-term deal, and I don’t think they can really afford to franchise him next year for a third year. So the feeling is hey, if we’re going to move on, we need to get something in exchange for him. And San Francisco would seem like the likely landing spot there. So we’ll see what happens. If they believe in Colt McCoy like some people believe they do, they make that trade, they end up with the second pick in the draft. Might have to part with their own pick, no. 17, but they could wind up with the second pick in the draft. And then they have to decide if they want to draft one of these kids, or whether you go with Colt McCoy and just draft somebody else at that spot.”
‘He is straight gangsta’
Longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter said on ESPN’s “NFL Insiders” program that Cousins might be among the most mercenary NFL players he’s encountered.
“The one thing I love about Kirk Cousins is that he is straight gangsta,” Trotter said. “Not -er. Straight gangsta. Ends with an ‘A.’ Owners are used to always having the leverage against players, and players will often capitulate for money. Kirk understands what his value is, and he is not going to short-sell himself. He looks at it now as look, I got $20 million last year, I’ll get 24 this year, that’s $44 million over two years. And then I go out on the free agent market next year, where if he has another season [similar] to what he had last year and this year, he can look to get guarantees at a minimum of $40 to $50 million. Which means he will have made close to $90 million to $100 million over three years. I think he’s okay with that. …
“The beauty here for me is you have a player who understands his market value, understands leverage and is willing to bet on himself and is not going to take less than what he can get,” Trotter went on. “He is maximizing his earnings. And at times, I’ve been criticized before [when] I would say that a contract I felt wasn’t good, in part because I felt a player had leverage and didn’t maximize it. Kirk is doing it. Short of Darrelle Revis, he may be the most mercenary player in the NFL that I’ve ever been around in my two decades.”
‘Give him a long-term deal and just end the problem.’
NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest implied that Cousins is better for the Redskins than any quarterback they could find in the draft.
“I think he has grown in this system,” McGinest said. “I think he’s one of these players that gets better and better as he’s involved in a system, like Jay Gruden’s. It’s very difficult and complicated. I think he understands that now. He plays great within that system. Yes, [you’d like] more consistency, throughout the year, for an entire 16 games. And you want to see him put the team on his back at times and make certain throws and take over football games. Of course.
“Look around the NFL; it’s not flooded with great quarterbacks,” McGinest said. “Look at the draft. You can’t find a guy right now that you’d say you would probably take over Kirk Cousins in the draft. This is a guy that’s at home, he plays great within the system, he is continuously getting better. Give him a long-term deal. Don’t play around with it. Because you’re not going to keep paying him [under the tag]. Give him a long-term deal and just end the problem.”
Romo has a higher ceiling
Analyst Cris Carter said on FS1 this week that if he were the Redskins, he would take Tony Romo over Cousins, at least in the short term.
“If you ask me over the next three years … I’m gonna go with Romo,” he said. “I really am. I’m gonna go with Romo, because I know what Romo can do, and I believe his ceiling is still higher. … I’m worried about the upside. Is it a system for Kirk Cousins? Tony Romo, I know he’s still a Pro Bowl quarterback.”