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Kirk Cousins on returning to Redskins: ‘It’s not in my hands’

Kirk Cousins could earn $25-plus million on a new, long-term deal.

Following yet another tremendous season for the Washington Redskins, quarterback Kirk Cousins is slated to become a free agent in March. He’s also looking for a lucrative long-term deal.

Whether this happens is really anyone’s guess. Washington has the capability of placing the franchise tag tender on Cousins once again this offseason. It’s a possibility that could force Cousins into playing under another one-year deal.

With rumors swirling about interest from the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, Cousins himself touched in his future in Washington.

“I don’t know,” Cousins told NFL.com on Wednesday. “I think you have to have an open mind but ultimately it’s not in my hands in the sense that the team is going to make that decision and I’ll react accordingly.”

Cousins’ comments are interesting in that he’s likely talking about that dreaded franchise tag. We have seen players react in a negative manner to be handed the tag, some of them going as far as to hold out. Pure conjecture here, but it seems that Cousins is keeping that possibility open.

 “I’d love to have a crystal ball that tells me what I’m going to do next year and 50 years after that, but that’s not life,” Cousins continued. “And that’s not life in this league. I’ll just take it a year at a time and trust in the Lord’s plan. Trust that he has a plan and whatever happens, he’s in control.”

Cousins has made sure to explicitly indicate that he wants to build a championship team in the nation’s capital. Of course, that’s all dependent on the Redskins actually paying him fair market value.

It seems highly unlikely that the Redskins would let Cousins hit the free-agent market in March. He’s coming off a 2016 campaign that saw him complete 67 percent of his passes for 4,917 yards with 29 total touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

The likelier scenario here is that Washington will place the franchise tag on Cousins while seeking a long-term deal. If the Skins were to place the non-exclusive tag on him, it would enable a team like San Francisco to offer up two first-round picks in exchange for the quarterback. On the other hand, said team could also engage in trade discussions with Washington at that point.

Cousins has a history with likely new 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, so there’s definitely something to the rumors that he might be a fit in San Francisco.

As of right now, we can simply conclude that Cousins’ future in D.C. remains up in the air. His comments on Wednesday only add to that.

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