In less than a week, the window closes for franchise-tagged players to sign multi-year contracts. With less than a week to go, nothing is happening regarding the highest-profile franchise-tagged player.
Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, there have been no new developments as to the potential contract that would tie quarterback Kirk Cousins to Washington beyond 2017. This doesn’t mean a deal is out of the question, but it shows that, if anything is going to happen, the process basically will be starting from scratch if at all within the next few days.
Of course, even if both sides begin at square one, it won’t take long to determine whether a contract can be negotiated. Cousins has $23.94 million in hand for 2017, with the promise of either a 20-percent raise under the transition tag or a 44-percent raise under the franchise tag in 2018 -- or a shot at the open market.
While the numbers would be very big, it’s not difficult to calculate how much it would take to get a deal done, especially since Cousins has now made it clear that there won’t be a hometown discount, and that his agent will be negotiating the deal based simply on what Cousins’ considerable leverage dictates.
