I don’t have much of a bucket list (other than to not kick the bucket for as long as possible), but if I had one, it possibly would have included “write Peter King’s MMQB column.” And it would now include this extra word: “Once.”
After six years of spending every regular-season Sunday with King, I knew how much work he put into it. But I didn’t really know it until I had to do it. Over the weekend, I did it. And you can read it right here.
If you do, you’ll see a blurb reconciling Washington’s willingness to pay quarterback Kirk Cousins $19.95 million for one year but unwillingness to offer more than $24 million on a long-term team. Put simply, G.M. Scot McCloughan believes he can find a comparable quarterback who will be much cheaper than Cousins, at some point in the next year or two.
Cousins, per multiple sources, wanted $44 million fully guaranteed at signing. That’s how much he’d make under the tag this year and next year, factoring in the 20-percent raise for the second tag. For Washington, it makes much more send to break a $44 million dollar decision into two decisions.
There’s still plenty of risk in that approach. If Cousins thrives again, he’ll want $58 million guaranteed at signing in 2017 on a long-term deal, since he’d be entitled to a 44-percent raise if the tag is applied a third time. Of course, Washington could simply roll the dice again, signing Cousins to a long-term deal in 2018 if he plays well for what would be a third straight season.
At some point, the market will set the player’s value. Washington could have let the market set his value this year, and it’s possible no one else would have offered as much or more than $16 million per year plus $24 million guaranteed. The team chose instead to continue with Cousin for one more year, and then to reassess the situation after the season.
If, by then, Washington believes it has a Plan B that would cost considerably less than $24 million for one more year or $58 million fully-guaranteed on a long-term deal, the team will be inclined to let Cousins hit the open market and, possibly, the road.
Either way, the team wants more of a sample size before making anything other than a Band-Aid commitment. For Cousins, the good news is that he’ll be able to buy a whole bunch of Band-Aids this year.