Two things can happen for Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason, and both of them are lucrative: He can either sign the franchise tag and play another season for Washington with a guaranteed salary of $34 million, or he can hit unrestricted free agency and shop himself to the highest bidder.
Cousins is excited about those possibilities. But if he does hit free agency, he wants a team that will not only offer him a lot of money but also offer him an opportunity to win a Super Bowl.
“Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No,” Cousins said on PFT Live. “It is about winning, and that’s what I want more than anything, so I’m going to be willing to make sacrifices or do what has to be done to make sure I’m in the best possible position to win, and that’s what the focus is going to be.”
Cousins has signed the franchise tag the last two years, and he indicated that if Washington puts the tag on him again this year, he’ll sign it again and play the 2018 season for $34 million.
“I think we’ll do what we’ve done the past two seasons. There’s no need to change the script. Stay consistent with the plan: Let the team do what they want to do,” Cousins said. “We’ll see what the Redskins want to do and then I’ll react accordingly.”
Although some players complain about the franchise tag, Cousins has already played on it twice and said he and his agent think it’s a good deal for a quarterback.
“There’s been a false narrative out there,” Cousins said. “Mike McCartney has really counseled me all along, if the team franchises you one, two, three times, just sign it.”
So what happens when the new league year begins in March? Does Cousins sign another franchise tag? Does he sign a long-term deal to remain in Washington? Or does he leave?
“We’ll see where it ends,” Cousins said of his career in Washington. “It may end this March, it may end years from now. Who knows?”