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There is just an under a month until the free agency period begins, which would mark the first time that Pro Bowl Kirk Cousins hits the open market. At the same time, there has been some constant chatter about the Washington Redskins considering using the franchise tag, worth roughly $34 million, to keep Cousins under contract for another year.
Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network believes that this scenario is highly unlikely due to several different factors, including the 29-year-old's unwillingness to sign a long-term deal with any other team that was to trade for him under that designation.
One reason why the #Redskins won't actually franchise tag and trade Kirk Cousins: If he gets tagged/traded, he won't negotiate at all with the new team. He'll play on $34M for one year. pic.twitter.com/tnmBzHeQcz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 19, 2018
This alone could lead to the Redskins deciding against using the franchise tag because no team would truly be interested in acquiring him essentially on a one-year loan on a high price tag. Any organization looking to land Cousins is doing so on the basis of making him being their long-term solution under center.
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There is also already the report that he would file a grievance to avoid getting the franchise tag placed on him by the Redskins. The legal action taken by Cousins could foreseeably work well in his favor as the team certainly has no intention of bringing him aboard long-term.
This is especially true after they traded for fellow Pro Bowl quarterback Alex Smith and signed him a four-year, $94 million extension shortly thereafter. On top of that, the Redskins would be committed to a sizeable chunk of their projected $48.9 million in projected salary cap space to him before the start of the free agency period.
This decision would basically kneecap the front office from being able to retain their key players or possibly acquire additional available talent. With all of these factors seemingly in play, it should lead to the Cousins getting his wish of hitting the open market, where there will be plenty of teams looking to acquire his services.
