With a July 15 deadline approaching, Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins are reportedly not close to settling on a long-term contract, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post.
This, however, is not worrying Washington’s general manager Scot McCloughan, who thinks something will eventually work itself out.
“It’s a big contract, and a position that’s very important to us, and he wants to be in the organization. We’re going to figure it out. If it’s not done by July 15, don’t worry. We’ll still get something figured out.”
If nothing is figured out in two months from now, Cousins will be paid very handsomely, to the tune of nearly $20 million, under his franchise tender in 2016.
According to Jones, Cousins is not too concerned either, and is letting his agent deal with the situation.
“I’ve just tried to focus on letting my play do the talking and let the team and my agent do the rest,” Cousins said. “There’s obviously plenty of time, and I don’t think a lot gets done or happens when you have plenty of time.”
Cousins is a fourth-round pick from 2012 after Washington selected former quarterback Robert Griffin III in the first round of the same draft.
Injuries to Griffin and a decline in production eventually led to Cousins starting for the entire 2015 season. After stumbling to get out of the gate in his first few games, Cousins wound up posting some pretty reputable stats while completing a league-high 69.8 percent of his passes.
He finished the 2015 campaign with 4,166 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, compared to 11 interceptions. Washington also made its first playoff appearance since RGIII’s rookie 2012 season.
With Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler inking a deal that pays him an average of $18 million per year, we can probably assess that Cousins is in the hunt for at least this much considering his booming success in 2015.
Although, Washington may be taking the wait-and-see approach. If Cousins regresses in 2016 while playing under his franchise tag, he would obviously lose some of his bargaining power moving forward. If no deal is in place by July 15, Cousins will be under extreme pressure to build on his 2015 stats.