Quarterback Kirk Cousins is making the Super Bowl Radio Row rounds, and he was asked during an appearance on San Francisco’s KNBR about the 49ers having interest in potentially making a trade for him.
“It’s good to be wanted,” Cousins said. “So hopefully down the road there will be people wanting me. But we’ll see how it all plays out. The unique thing about the franchise tag is if the Redskins choose to place that on me, then I’m pretty much off the market.
“So we’ll see what they choose to do come March 1. And the ball is in their court, along those lines...[and] I’ll react accordingly.”
The Cousins-49ers rumors come from the 49ers preparing to hire Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as their head coach next week. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington when Cousins was drafted.
The 49ers would have to pay two first-round picks to get Cousins if he was to get the non-exclusive franchise tag. Under that scenario, the Redskins would also be able to negotiate their own trade with an interested team that felt it could sign Cousins to a long-term deal.
Cousins played 2016 under the franchise tag. Last week, Cousins said he probably will sign the franchise tag if he’s tagged again and prepare to play under the one-year, $24 million arrangement that comes with it. He also said he’d love to stay with the Redskins under a long-term deal if that’s what the team’s decision-makers decide they want.
“The franchise tag is a good amount of money, so I am not complaining,” Cousins said. “As my agent told me from Day One, the franchise tag is your friend.”