Kirk Cousins has spent 14 years in the NFL. He’s been to the playoffs three times. He has one postseason win.
And he nevertheless sits near the top of the list of all-time NFL earners.
Depending on the source, Cousins is either second behind Matthew Stafford or third behind Stafford and Tom Brady. Once the latest $20 million is added to the total Cousins pile, he’ll likely become the undisputed No. 2.
And $20 million is a key number. It’s the bookend to the figure that sparked Cousins’s climb.
In 2016, Washington applied the franchise tag to Cousins, at $20 million, after his four-year, fourth-round contract expired. But they offered him a long-term deal with an average annual value of $16 million.
It made the decision a no-brainer for Cousins. Take the $20 million, show up for everything, and focus on having the kind of season that would lay the foundation for a long-term deal.
In 2017, Washington tagged him again, at $24 million. (Some in the organization at the time lobbied for Colt McCoy at $3 million, arguing that Cousins wasn’t eight times better than McCoy.)
As of 2018, Washington wasn’t inclined to give Cousins a 44-percent increase (by rule) for a third tag. He became a free agent and the highest-paid player in NFL history after the Vikings boxed out the Jets.
His initial three-year deal in Minnesota became a six-year stay. When the Vikings insisted on a year-to-year arrangement as of 2024, Cousins opted for the multi-year financial security in Atlanta, which (as he quickly learned) didn’t mean multi-year job security.
Through it all, Cousins kept adding cash to the pile. He got $98.7 million for two years with the Falcons. His new deal with the Raiders puts him north of $330 million.
It’s obviously a temporary title. As the NFL’s money increases, the salary cap will rise and the market at the various positions will, too. Inevitably, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will be No. 1 and No. 2.
For now, though, the biggest claim to fame for Kirk Cousins comes not from his exploits in the postseason, but from trips to the bank made in January and other months of the year.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
Commanders General Manager Adam Peters went into the offseason wanting to improve at defensive end. He did a better job than he thought he would.
The Commanders signed Odafe Oweh to a four-year, $100 million contract, and signed K’Lavon Chaisson to a one-year, $12 million contract. They project as the Commanders’ two starting defensive ends this season, and Peters wasn’t expecting to get them both.
“Just really something we needed to address, and we did,” Peters said. “I was actually pretty surprised we were able to get both of those guys.”
The Commanders also signed defensive end Charles Omenihu to a one-year, $4 million contract, picking up some depth behind the two new starters. Those contracts are a big investment, but Peters thinks the return will make the investment well worth it.
The Commanders signed defensive tackle D.J. Davidson, the team announced Tuesday.
Davidson, 26, spent his first four seasons with the Giants after they made him a fifth-round pick.
In 2025, Davidson played 256 defensive snaps and 139 on special teams in 15 games. He totaled nine tackles and a pass defensed.
Davidson missed the final two games of last season with a neck injury.
In his career, he has played 47 games with four starts, seeing action on 806 defensive snaps and 403 on special teams. He has recorded 49 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and three passes defensed.
Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner spent the past two seasons with the Commanders. He’s currently a free agent. The team’s head coach said the franchise hasn’t ruled out bringing Wagner back for a third year.
“We would never shut the door on him,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Saturday, via John Keim of ESPN.
That said, the Commanders seem to be content with the players they have on the roster.
“We do feel like there’s some players that are about to take off at [his] position,” Quinn said.
Whatever Wagner does next, he’s a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has earned first-team All-Pro honors six times, and All-Pro second-team honors five times.
In 2014, Wagner finished fifth in the NFL MVP voting.
After 10 straight years with the Seahawks, Wagner joined the Rams in 2022. He returned to Seattle in 2023 before signing with Washington for 2024.
