Report: Kirk Cousins requests trade

Posted by Mike Florio on March 9, 2017, 11:45 AM EST
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The launch sequence has been initiated.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that quarterback Kirk Cousins has personally asked owner Daniel Snyder to trade the sixth-year quarterback. Per Mort, Cousins was basically told not to get his hopes up.

Cousins’ response should be to tell Washington not to get their hopes up about him signing his franchise tender. By rule, he can stay away until Labor Day or thereabouts, skipping the offseason program and training camp and the preseason and making $23.94 million for the season once he reports.

Sure, they could rescind the tender. But with Brian Hoyer the starter* in San Francisco, Cousins would quickly find a new home.

Either way, go get some popcorn.

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123 responses to “Report: Kirk Cousins requests trade”

  2. Guy wants to get paid and is noticing the Redskins are losing their best assets (Desean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, etc.). Can’t really blame him.

  6. If you and your $24M salary were tradeable, it’d have already happened. Not your fault Kirk, the Skins should have resigned you to a long term deal -LAST YEAR. Now, you are stuck with each other.

  8. Hoyer is the starter in San Fran because he’s currently the only QB on the roster. The Niners would be quick to grab Cousins now.

  11. Good for him!

    Teams use, abuse and cut players as their winds change from season to season. How many guys want to play a game where you could be paralyzed any minute FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE without some level of long term security and commitment.

    The tag numbers are nice but I’d rather have 6 yrs/96M vs continuing to be forced to play for 20-23 a year and praying to god I don’t end with seriously injured. Security is all any of us want in life, playing on 1 year do-or-die deals isn’t mentally healthy at all.

  15. This has really been botched by the skins. Best qb they’ve had in decades and they’re hesitant to pay him to the point of alienating him. Good job.

  16. That’s cool for us Niners fans and all, but I feel for you REDSKINS fans. You guys were becoming legit threats and Allen and Snyder screwed you over. York and Baalke did something similar and we are just now moving on. You fans deserve better.

  19. Think about this Napoleon Jr. The 49ers look like a better organization now, and they ran off the best coach they’ve had in at least 20 years.

  21. After the deflate gate erroneous misinformation and then the refusal to correct said misinformation for months thereafter, I can’t take Mort seriously any longer. He falls under fake news now; no longer legit

  23. Kirk has played well and has earned a long term contract. But there’s just something about him. When i see his face i instantly get annoyed. He seems like the type of guy that would corner you at a party and keep talking about how he brews his own beer.

  27. I just don’t see this happening, especially with the 49ers. Snyder is going to want too much in return and the Niners can’t lose those picks with no viable #1 receiver, and a starting back who can’t stay healthy.

  29. as a Boys fan this is awesome…..Kirk wants out and they have lost djack and garcon. 1-15 next and cellar dwellars for the next 10 years as my Boys win the NFC East 10 years in a row.

    HOW BOUT THOSE COWBOYS!!!!!

  30. Blow the whole team up and do a rebuild.
    Who is going to be left for Kirk to throw the ball to, Reed?
    His top receivers are jumping ship.

  31. Can’t blame him. The Redskins won’t give him a long-term deal and they are letting his weapons go. If he goes to the Niners, at least, from what we’ve seen so far in free agency, they are a team on the rise. And they’ll give him the deal he wants.

  34. Can’t wait to throw big money and term at every other teams washed up cast offs, but jerks around their own guys.

    “Kirk Cousins, nah….we can do so much better. We find legit #1 QBs all the time here in Washington, right? But hey Albert Haynesworth, wanna be the richest man in football?”

    Dan Snyder, ladies and gentlemen

  37. Valentino, he hasn’t signed the tender yet – he’s completely tradeable. Part of the trade would be contingent on a contract with the new team.

    For example, the Browns could offer up #12 and maybe a conditional pick for him, conditional on signing Cousin’s to a long term contract. If Washington were to accept that, the Browns could then talk to Cousin’s agent on contract terms. Once they are agreed to in principle, both deals are completed. The tender becomes irrelevant because Cousin’s hasn’t signed it yet.

  38. What leverage does he have?

    He holds out – he doesn’t get paid, and the Redskins still own his rights.

    He holds out through most of camp, and signs just before the season – his likelihood of getting injured dramatically increases, and impacts a potential contract next year. He also is likely to not have a strong season in this scenario. He also runs the risk that the team (or teams) he is interested in move in another direction, and strike gold with their backup plan. (Niners will likely draft a QB, and he could theoretically be this years Dak Prescott)

    If the Redskins don’t like the offers that they are getting, they can hold on to him.

    The Redskins were not likely to make the playoffs this season, so they can play poker too.

  39. The DC train wreck has left the station. The only positive outcome would be a trade with Cleveland. They have plenty of picks, need a QB and are in the AFC.

  40. So funny to me how the trolls always say “Cowboys, most mediocre franchise in sports” yet, every year there seems to be some high level and inexplicable buffoonery happening in DC.

  42. Washington are fools if they let Cousins leave. To many people don’t appreciate how hard it is to get good quarterback play. He may not be Brady but he’s better than a number of other QBs in the league.

  43. I understand the franchise tag last year as a “prove it” deal from the team. He proved it and now they want to tag him again, which means they still don’t believe in him. No one wants to be where they are not wanted.

    Time to roll out Kirk. Teams like the Chiefs, Broncos, Texans, Rams, Cardinals would all be much more dangerous with Cousins under center.

  44. WAS is holding out for what little leverage they have until the draft starts. One way or another WAS deals Cousins before the draft. I’d be surprised if Cousins plays in WAS this year.

  47. Chris Mortensen also reported that the Pats footballs were deflated by 4psi or something. He has ZERO cred.

  48. They should have traded Cousins prior to this.
    Now the Redskins are SCREWED.
    Sure they’ll get something for Cousins but not anywhere near what they anticipated a few weeks ago.
    It’s either S.F. or Denver.
    Houston is a dark horse in the race for Cousins.
    Yes I know he wants to go to S.F. but that might not work out in a trade. It takes 2 to tango.

  49. A psychic sees lots of unprovable soft tissue injuries in Kirk Cousins’ future next year after he signs his tender on the third day of the draft just after any legitimate QB replacements are gone and the Redskins can only get compensation in next years’ draft in any trade. Cousins has some pretty savvy advisors who have positioned Washington to be pummeled. Wait for Snyder to try to black ball Cousins which will trigger anti-trust and tort claims that will hang over the NFL for the next decade. Hilarious! In a matter of weeks Snyder and Allen have undone all the foundation Gruden has built over the past several years.

  50. Staying away would not be a good idea for Cousins. If his production drops off sharply this season, his value as a free agent would be diminished.

  51. Chris Mortensen of BSPN as the source tells me all I need to know about the level credibility of this report.

  52. About time he started playing hardball….when a bum like Glennon gets a 3 yr guarantee for failing twice as a starter a teams franchise should get the going rate…..still not sure why Washington didn’t sign him long term last yr…

  53. It’s Kirk Cousins here guys. Kirk Cousins. Life will not be over for the Redskins if Kirk Cousins leaves. He doesn’t want to be there so get what you can and move on.

  55. Kirk Cousins/Washington is in this weird kind of Limbo.

    I dont think he is good enough to be a “Franchise QB”. But you could do a lot worse when teams are starting guys like Tyrod Taylor, Trevor Seimen, and everyone playing QB for San Fran and Cleveland…

    The two sides are really at a stalemate, Cousins wants Franchise QB money (even though I personally dont think he is worth it), Washington cant do better than Cousins at the moment, and i think they were really hoping he had a worse year last year than he did so they could get him for a few extra years at a reasonable price. I think the team still views him as a “Ryan Fitzpatrick-esque” stop gap, and are just trying to keep the best QB they can on the field until they find a better option…

  56. I hope the Redskins NEVER give in and keep their name forever…

    BUT, if they ever decide to give in maybe the Washington Snowflakes would be a fitting alternative these days.

  58. He will probably sit out all training camp, then ‘injure’ a hammy or something that will have him sitting until week 5, at which point they will be 0-4 and looking at rebuilding. They may trade him for picks then.

  59. 6ball says:
    Mar 9, 2017 11:56 AM
    .
    Trade Cousins + Acquire Garopollo = Joy in DC
    _____________________________________

    Picking up Garopollusy may be good for 2 games until he gets hurt.

  63. This is a bottom five organization and it starts with the top.

    I wish, wish, wish I was born anywhere but this stupid area. WHY?!?!?!?!

    A really powerful offense with a ton of cap room this offseason, and we lose almost every piece of it. WHY?!?!?

  64. Teams use, abuse and cut players as their winds change from season to season. How many guys want to play a game where you could be paralyzed any minute FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE without some level of long term security and commitment.

    The tag numbers are nice but I’d rather have 6 yrs/96M vs continuing to be forced to play for 20-23 a year and praying to god I don’t end with seriously injured. Security is all any of us want in life, playing on 1 year do-or-die deals isn’t mentally healthy at all.
    —————————————————————
    If you can’t set yourself up for life on $23 millilon then there is something wrong with you !

  65. Hoyer is getting backup dough. Definitely be OK with him starting but it’s obvious they’re still trying to get cousins . Niners are Accustomed to to having a zero but in this league you need two serviceable quarterbacks.

  67. Not a Browns fan, but this is their big chance. They have the draft capital AND the cap space to make this trade happen. And think of it: it would give those long-suffering Cleveland fans something they haven’t had in years – hope.

  68. I think the Redskins name is giving the team some bad vibes. They tried, new GMs, Owner, HCs, Massive QB trades. Same result.

    Ergo, it’s the name.

  71. They should make t- shirts that say. Dan Snyder: Making Jerry Jones look intelligent since 1999…

  72. They have to pay the guy top QB money even though he’s just an average QB because there are no other average QB’s available. When they lost the top 2 targets, it sure felt like they weren’t a lot better offensively than what the 49ers could offer, so why not go get that big pay day now. 1 bad year with no offensive weapons would cost Cousins a lot of money on the open market.

    I really hope this QB shuffling going on means someone will overpay for AJ McCarron.

  73. last two seasons, kirk has made good money. it is a shame that his tenure with the skins nation is ending this way. a lot of fans have always been na-sayers about Kirk’s abilities., but most of us want nothing more than Kirk to stay a Redskins but most of all – to be happy. And if Kirk can not be happy in the burgundy and gold – then it’s time to make his request come true.

    Kirk was propelling the Skins into playoff contention, every season. Now the Skins are back in the nightmare saga of not having a Franchise QB.

    Can’t wait to hear from the insiders when the dust has settled and folks are talking about how this all has transpired.

    Sad day for most Skins’ fans.

  75. Kirk just sign your tender and leave after the season and you’ll be able to go wherever you want. Don’t negotiate any further just play this year out and leave. if not, let them franchise you every year.

  76. Unbelievable and I don’t understand why they won’t give him a long term deal.????? What have they been holding out for? Who’s waiting in the wings? What on EARTH are they hesitant for? All a sudden they don’t throw $$ around in Washington anymore? PAY THE MAN

  78. clwb419 says:
    Mar 9, 2017 11:57 AM

    Valentino, he hasn’t signed the tender yet – he’s completely tradeable. Part of the trade would be contingent on a contract with the new team.

    For example, the Browns could offer up #12 and maybe a conditional pick for him, conditional on signing Cousin’s to a long term contract. If Washington were to accept that, the Browns could then talk to Cousin’s agent on contract terms. Once they are agreed to in principle, both deals are completed. The tender becomes irrelevant because Cousin’s hasn’t signed it yet
    ————————————————

    If he hasn’t signed the tender then I guess a deal like that would hinge on his willingness to accept his market value as opposed to the numbers he has been looking at as a result of being tagged for the last 2 years. That deal would be good for Cleveland, but Cousins would have to want out of D.C. bad enough to go to a team with an awful lot of work to do.

  79. I just don’t understand what Washington is doing. Jackson gone, Garcon gone. You resign Davis and still have Reed, but they are essentially the same player, only difference is one is younger than the other.

    You got a QB that’s developing and getting better but now he want’s to go. This can’t be good as far as team “chemistry” goes, but the brass in D.C. know more than I do so maybe they have a trick or two up their sleeves.

    On the surface, this just doesn’t look good. If he signs the franchise tag(which he’ll probably have to do, unless they get a heck of a deal to trade him) you will have paid him upwards of 40+ mil over two years. Seems like it would have made more sense to just get a long term deal done structured the right way.

  83. thewall3004 says:
    Mar 9, 2017 11:53 AM
    trade him now please. I’m so tired of being dysfunctional

    ________________

    No matter if the Redskins trade Cousins today or before the trade deadline, the dysfunction won’t end as long as Dan Snyder is the owner

  85. platinumraider32, your last comment was, for the most part, a very reasoned and knowledgeable assessment of the situation in Washington. Well done.
    There was one sentence I happen to disagree with: “. . . but the brass in D.C. know more than I do, so maybe they have a trick or two up their sleeves.”
    I see no evidence of that.

  86. Been a Redskins fan for 47 years. I remember the highs of the Gibbs Super Bowls and the lows of Jim Zorn. But currently, I have endured just about all the frustration I can take.

    It’s not just the lack of wins, which IS difficult, but its the dysfunctional way in which they go about business that I just can’t endure anymore.

    Never, ever thought I’d say this, but goodbye Skins….

  87. Trade him and get picks. I honestly don’t get all the fuss over Cousins. Career record as starter is 19-21-1. Best season is 9-7 and first round exit in playoffs. This year, 8-7-1 and first round exit from playoffs with horrible pick against Giants. He won’t have near that offensive talent next year. No way I’d pay him 23 mil for this year.

  88. And in other news…. Kirk Cousins throws an awful lot of interceptions in crunch time. NO WAY is he worth 24 million per year. In 2 years time, Washington is going to be very glad they didn’t sign him long-term.

  91. This is too funny, a year ago the guy was just glad to be playing in the NFL after getting tagged. Now he wants a trade. You gotta love those agents. He reminds me a lot of the Dolphins QB and that’s not a compliment.

  92. Are the Redskins firesaling/tanking? I mean whats the plan seriously? Losing your best offensive players and aliniate the best QB you have had in over a decade.

    Perhaps they feel like they need full rebuild because of the fallout of the RG3 draft trade and are ready to spiral dive a coupke years.

    And whos the GM there? What a mes….

  94. 2016 was wash’s year to win big, it didnt happen because of Cousin’s faltering in critical moment against NYG. He was solid all year though. Crazy League

  99. So let me get this straight, Pay Kirk and still have money for DJax and Garcon in Washington, you people are the funniest. If he was a team player like he says and he claims to be, he would not be trying to rob the hen house of all the chickens.

  101. To all those who think Cousins is a mediocre QB…yes he does have a lot to prove…he will prove that he can win playoffs games once he is away from the clowns that run the team is WASHINGTON….All Fail The WASHINGTON’S!

  102. mrkbuilders says:

    Good for him!

    Teams use, abuse and cut players as their winds change from season to season. How many guys want to play a game where you could be paralyzed any minute FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE without some level of long term security and commitment.
    ======================================

    What he made last season alone should have given him long term security. Along with his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.

  103. This is his agent’s doing. Cousins gets paid a ton of $ by signing the franchise tender, and can go FA next year if he doesn’t get a long term contract.

    Fans will turn on him now. At least, this one will. Tired of his apparent immaturity.

  105. Apparently McCloughan is on his way out in favor of Bruce Allen, and it seems that most of the talent is losing confidence in the franchise.

    Fascinating to watch Snyder screw up what should have been a no-brainer path to winning. McCloughan was building a solid franchise in the same way he did in San Francisco and Seattle. The offense was already one of the best in the league. The defense is flawed but with a couple more drafts it should have improved if they could just retain their core.

    I”m baffled at how nonchalant Snyder is about Cousins. After years of seeing him be far too positive about RG3, who never learned how to run an NFL offense, we’re apparently seeing the opposite with respect to Cousins. Cousins is, right now, a Top 10 QB in the NFL. Yes he threw a bad pick at the end of the Giants game, but on the whole he’s gotten his INT % way down from what it used to be. But instead of retaining him, the Redskins’ plan is…what? Colt McCoy?

  106. Bruce Allen and Dan Synder are doing everything they can to kill this franchise. They are backstabbing the only GM in recent Redskins history that actually has them going in the right direction. They have let their two top offensive players go (Garcon/Jackson). They have lost their offensive coordinator. They could not get any reputable defensive coordinator to come there. Now they want to alienate their starting QB by not (A) signing him to a long term deal or (B) trade him because they dislike Kyle Shanahan. On the bright side we have Vernon Davis and Jay Gruden for two more years.

  107. Is anyone really surprised? The Skins have one of the most loyal fan bases around but the team has basically been a dumpster fire since Snyder bought them. Skins fans — that smell comes from the top of the organization!

  108. Cry if you want to, but I am happy they aren’t giving in and overpaying Cousins. Put the $ elsewhere and do what you can to get another QB. It just doesn’t make sense to pay more for a QB you don’t think is worth it on the pecking order. 20 mil and a large signing bonus is enough for his quality.
    And for you so called Redskins fans saying you are bailing then bail. Don’t come bandwagon jumping when we overachieve sometimes in the future. Bunch of babies.

  110. Wow…Bruce Allen is to the Redskins what Trent Balke was to the Niners. Lets see if Snyder is the equal of York and figure out how to get the organization out of yet another PR nightmare.

  115. Hey Kirk you can probably get a trade with the Browns….just think you are RGIII can be reunited once again…..sounds fun!!! 49ers aren’t known for being a franchise that likes to spend money….just ask Jim Harbaugh…..

  116. Cousins has that option. But having already lost his top 2 wideouts, he could have a bad season if he skipped camp, killing his free agent value.

    So it would be a calculated risk. He’d do just as well to just sign the thing, cash his cheques, and ‘serve his time’

  117. If I’m Snyder, I dump him on the Browns for next to nothing. Free up cap space and let him have fun in Cleveland where he can have fun 16 games behind that disgrace of an o-line.

    Skins should pursue Kaep–he had 16tds/4 ints and 2,200 yds last year. They could probably get him for $14mill/yr considering he has no market. They could go sign Victor Cruz for $5 mill/yr. Then they can maybe use $2 mill/yr to give Josh Gordon a shot.

    All of that would be cheaper than Cousins.

  118. They talk about it every year, but no one has called a team’s B.S. yet. Last year it was Von Miller. I want to see a player call a team’s bluff and sit out an entire season. Whether you think Cousins is a good QB or not, the bidding war on his services would be insane next year. The best players in the NFL never hit free agency because of franchise tags and the benefit it gives teams in signing their superstars. Yes the players end up signing massive contract extensions at some point, but it’s never what the player could have received on the open market if multiple teams were forced to bid on them. At 28, Cousins still has many years (barring a career ending injury) left ahead of him. Why play on another franchise tag risking an injury that could end your career and any chance of a long term deal? He did it last year and threw for 4,900 yards. Call Snyder’s bluff, tell the Skins to go to hell, and see what they can do when they lose 2 1,000 yard receivers and a 4,900 yard QB in one year.

  120. However dysfunctional they are (and they are) this is the right move. Keep this stance all the way up to draft day then take the best offer.

  121. I don’t think there is an offer large enough for Cousins to sign long term in DC . He’s too smart to want to stay in an organization that can’t hold their crap together for more than 2 years at a time. I hope Bruce Allen bends Synder over his own desk and shows him how all Redskin fans have felt since he bought the team!!!

  122. A team would be crazy to lose a decent QB.
    Just pay him.
    Otherwise, trade him.
    What do the Redskins gain by keeping him for 1 more year and going 8-8 and missing the playoffs?

  123. He is being ungrateful to the team that is paying him 24 Million Dollars! What an ingrate! He would be Wise to Stay and PROVE HIMSELF!!!

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