Whether the mouthpiece has been head coach Jay Gruden or team president Bruce Allen, the message from the Redskins about quarterback Kirk Cousins remaining with the team for the 2017 season has been clear.
They say Cousins will be their quarterback, but the question of whether he’ll be playing on another franchise tag or a long-term deal is one that hasn’t been answered at this point. Cousins believes that a long-term deal will give him “full freedom to lead” and it would allow the team to avoid yearly questions about their future at the position, although that wasn’t enough to find agreement on a contract last year.
Allen is confident that won’t be the case this time around.
“You start out with optimism, of course,” Allen said on ESPN 980, via the Washington Post. “And I don’t think it’s as complicated as everyone wants to make it. And we’ll get together with his agent, and I’m sure we’ll come to an agreement.”
Things aren’t always that simple, of course, and Cousins’ camp may not feel that what Allen and the Redskins have to offer is quite as difficult to resist as Allen seems to think. If that’s the case, March 1 may bring another franchise tag and an extension of the time to find the simple answer that Allen believes is out there.