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Washington Redskins place franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 27, 2017; Kissimmee, FL, USA; NFC quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins (8) throws a pass during practice for the 2017 Pro Bowl at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 27, 2017; Kissimmee, FL, USA; NFC quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins (8) throws a pass during practice for the 2017 Pro Bowl at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Redskins have officially put the franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins for the 2017 season.

Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney announced on Twitter that his client has signed the Exclusive Franchise Tag. This means that Cousins will be under a one-year contract and will be making the average of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.

The franchise tag isn’t the final say in what Cousins will be paid for 2017, though. This is a way to extend the bargaining for a new contract without potentially losing him as an unrestricted free agent. There is still the possibility that he might be signed to a long-term deal before the season starts.

According to ESPN, the franchise tag would be worth $23,943,600 for this season. That means the Redskins would have to fork over that much money because franchise tags are guaranteed. This would hurt the cap space and it would potentially jeopardize any potential free agents from being signed.

Cousins isn’t treading unfamiliar water with being slapped with the franchise tag, though. After his rookie contract was up following the 2015 season, he was going to be an unrestricted free agent and the Redskins decided to put the franchise tag on him that season as well.  That contract was worth $19,953,000.

The Redskins had to keep Cousins away from the free agent market. He is a highly touted player that many teams would have dumped all the money they could into him just to secure his services. If they let him go it would have been a devastating blow to their future playoff chances.

Cousins has been a productive quarterback since entering the NFL. Last season he threw for 4,917 yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He finished with a solid 71.3-QBR and without him, the Redskins would have been looking for answers on the offensive side of the ball

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This was a great decision from the Redskins to continue the negotiations while keeping Cousins off the market. For the sake of their franchise, I would hope they would come to an agreement with him on a long-term contract.

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