Kirk Cousins Development Tracker

McD5 said:
Bird, it's not even up to him at this point.

We can franchise him if we so choose. That locks him up for at least one year.

For the record, that franchise costs us a ton--definitely not the route we'd prefer to go. Roughly $20.3 million next season.
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If we assume that $20.3M is the maximum we pay Kirk, we're in GREAT shape for next year. This year, we have +/- $18M tied up in the QB position. Assuming we keep McCoy and draft a rookie project, that puts the QB position at about $4M more than this year. Considering the estimated cap increase, we're good. And we have a guy who has had an incredibly good year, and certainly looks like a guy we can build around. I'd say that puts us significantly ahead of where we were this time last year.

And if McL can structure Cousins' deal like Tannehill or Kappernick's? That cap number may drop to be the same as what we are paying QBs this year, or possibly even lower. Think about it. Depending on what McL can do, we might be in a BETTER cap situation than we are this year with a guy who is proving he can win.

Let's wait and see what happens before we start moaning about signing Kirk a month ago.
 
micks113 said:
The thread is done as far as I'm concerned. This year proved that Kirk is legit. Far exceeded the expectations of the fans, media and league. No disputing that. He is the starter without question.

The thread, I thought, was about his progress this year. Not his career progress. Plus, I don't know what you mean by "max out". Each year should be judged on its own merits as a team, and future play of Kirk is irrelevant to what he has achieved this year. He passed all the tests.

No one will catch me saying Kirk has a great year but......he can't win the big one. I hope no one is foolish enough to think we have to now rely on Kirk to put this team on his shoulders and have a "wait and see" attitude. The team proved otherwise as well. The future is now, ready or not.

As an aside.....same with Gruden. Far exceeded fans' expectations, winning the division in second year. He coached backups to the division title and brought this team together. He joins only a handful of coaches to do so, including Joe Gibbs.
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Ummm... wut? Are you talking about Redskins coaches only? If so, that is an acceptable statement. But if you're talking about NFL coaches, then... uh... that's crazy. Gruden has FAR exceeded my meager expectations for this year, but EVERY coach that wins the division has to deal with injuries. Every coach in NFL history has had to deal with them, it's a violent sport.

Regardless, Gruden has done a GREAT job this year, and deserves a ton of credit.
 
McD5 said:
You're thinking correctly.

SmootPoint knows much more than I do about contracts, but in layman's terms......

1. Kirk, here's $20 million for one year. Roll the dice.

2. Kirk, here's $17 million for three years. Your call.
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Thanks for the mention, McD5... However, I would say I'm more interested in this topic than others... I'm not necessarily knowledgeable. I get most of my information from same place others do, but much of my opinions are formed from listening to SiriusXM NFL channel. Pat Kirwan & Andrew Brandt especially have a lot of experience being around deals like this and knowing how they go down.

I believe Cousins will get at least $20M guaranteed in 1st year of contract unless we let him hit the open market and his market is less than that (I doubt that happens)...

There are 4 groups of people who have a stake in what the contract looks like (not including fans):

1) Kirk Cousins (it's obvious)... He should get whatever he can from this deal, but a short term deal that allows him to renegotiate again in a few years might help him. It's in Kirk's best interest to make the team happy with his contract.
2) Redskins (it's obvious)... We'll pretty much be able to see if the team views Cousins as the future and franchise QB based on the amount of guaranteed money over the $20M, especially the money that would convert to dead money should he be cut after year 1 or 2... It's in team's best interest to make sure Kirk is happy with contract (if they want to keep him around).
3) Kirk's Agent - Kirk's agent will want a splashy headline... "Cousins signed $100M deal with Redskins". He wants current & prospective clients to get the headline, so the deal may actually look ridiculous after reading the initial headline. However, I wouldn't think it will be anything but a very fair deal.
4) NFLPA - Players around the league will want to make sure Kirk gets as much money as possible. If Cousins signs a low deal, that won't make anyone around the league happy.

Now... I was wrong about the Kerrigan deal, because I thought that would hedge more closely to the amount of guaranteed money that he had coming to him in the 5th year option. I think in the 1st year of his deal he wound up with at least 50% more guaranteed money. That pretty much shows you the Redskins feelings on Kerrigan. Even though he hasn't been completely healthy & his numbers are off, it looks like a good deal for team, player & agent... So, history might suggest Cousins gets at minimum a $30M guaranteed in year 1 of the deal... I'd hope for a 3 year deal that averages around $12M-15M/year... That would mean Cousins could hit the market again for a bigger pay day sooner, maybe after proving he is a top 10 QB (and after Winston, Mariota, Bortles, Carr reset the new market). Redskins fans should be ecstatic with that deal. Agent would probably press for a splashier headline, but I think it's a fair deal that ultimately provides Kirk a chance to prove himself and more freedom to renegotiate with a better resume. I think Kirwan was arguing some of these points, but he was saying let Cousins walk if the price tag is more than $7M/year... It's definitely going to be higher than that and probably double.

I think Kirk has a really strong negotiating stance, mostly because the team will want to save the franchise tag for Jordan Reed.
 
That is what players are attracted to now is the guaranteed money. I like that better than what we were doing with the huge signing bonus less money first 2 years and then renogotiate the contract
 
Goaldeje said:
Ummm... wut? Are you talking about Redskins coaches only? If so, that is an acceptable statement. But if you're talking about NFL coaches, then... uh... that's crazy. Gruden has FAR exceeded my meager expectations for this year, but EVERY coach that wins the division has to deal with injuries. Every coach in NFL history has had to deal with them, it's a violent sport.

Regardless, Gruden has done a GREAT job this year, and deserves a ton of credit.
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Yes I'm talking about all coaches history of NFL. I think you missed my point, yes all coaches have to deal with injuries. I'm specifically referring to winning the division in year two of a coaches career. There is only a handful in the history of NFL. Courtesy of the NFL Network. Yes Gibbs was one of the select few (I think it was less than six coaches but can't remember exactly. I'll post it if I can find it again. I was very surprised to read it, but Gruden has done it.
 
micks113 said:
Yes I'm talking about all coaches history of NFL. I think you missed my point, yes all coaches have to deal with injuries. I'm specifically referring to winning the division in year two of a coaches career. There is only a handful in the history of NFL. Courtesy of the NFL Network. Yes Gibbs was one of the select few (I think it was less than six coaches but can't remember exactly. I'll post it if I can find it again. I was very surprised to read it, but Gruden has done it.
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And some have done it their first year. Many have not had sustained success when given it quickly either. This seems to be more of a correlation than a causation situation, unfortunately.

I am glad we have had this year though, as I think we all needed a good year to keep Eeyore away :D I just don't think Gruden is really up to being mentioned in the same echelon as Gibbs (sorry McD5), at least until he brings us some super bowls. Then we can think about it.
 
I"m not too concerned that Kirk will regress. That usually happens to guys who come out and play well right away and get everyone's hopes up while never really developing further. Kirk's route so far has him working hard and steadily improving. Most importantly he's improving in the area of traditional QB play that lends itself to long term success. I didn't pay much attention to the talk about where he rates among other QB's. I've been most concerned with how he rates against himself as the season has progressed. Right now I think he's playing close to somewhere in the top third of QB's. I'm talking current play, not absolute position. He'll determine that in the future, but all signs are pretty encouraging.
 
TomE said:
We all end up that way my friend, these guys just get paid a lot more to get there a little quicker.
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Sir Tom...I'm entering that stage of life very soon.....and we all don't end up like that. for the first time in my life Im actually hangin out with the "older crowd" - mostly cuz there's less BS to deal with :). plenty of folks who are active and in control of all their faculties late in life. what worries me is how many folks I grew up with in the 60s...celebrities et al....who are dropping like flies in their 50s and 60s. it does appear all the healthy living fads were overcome by....ummm...other socially approved vices.....errrr...enjoyments.
 
Most yards ever for a Redskins QB?

Pay the guy, and just thank God he's our QB.
 
Congrats to Kirk on the milestone. More importantly, it isn't just some meaningless record gained on the last game of the season. He earned it leading the team to the playoffs.
 
Easily my favorite play from Cousins all year was today!

On 3rd and 6 from the Dallass 40, Kirk drops back 3 steps after the snap from the shotgun position, feels the pressure right in front of him, twists his body away from the pressure just enough to remain in the pocket while avoiding the sack, sets his feet, and throws the TD to Garcon.

That is the type of play I have yearned for at the QB position here in DC for years.
 
Elephant said:
Easily my favorite play from Cousins all year was today!

On 3rd and 6 from the Dallass 40, Kirk drops back 3 steps after the snap from the shotgun position, feels the pressure right in front of him, twists his body away from the pressure just enough to remain in the pocket while avoiding the sack, sets his feet, and throws the TD to Garcon.

That is the type of play I have yearned for at the QB position here in DC for years.
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Completely agree. That play was Tom Brady-esque.
 
Today cemented for me that he is at elite status. It was like night and day when he left the game. Colt did fine after settling down, but what a difference. It wasn't like that last year. Truly remarkable.
 
Cousins sure as hell looked elite tonight! 3 TDs in less than half a game!
 
OK, quick glance over the season ending stats for QB's.

According the NFL.com Cousins finished 10th in the league in passing yards.

He had less pass attempts than any other QB in the top 10 except Carson Palmer who only had 6 less attempts.

He ranked 3rd in QB rating among the top 10.

He ranked 7th in TD's in the top 10.

Only one QB in the top 10 had fewer INT's.
 
Elephant said:
On 3rd and 6 from the Dallass 40, Kirk drops back 3 steps after the snap from the shotgun position, feels the pressure right in front of him, twists his body away from the pressure just enough to remain in the pocket while avoiding the sack, sets his feet, and throws the TD to Garcon.
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If we were playing against a competent defense, the safety would've picked that one off... It was keystone cops in the Dallas secondary.

Kirk Cousins played well this game and has earned a solid contract... Winning the last 4 games against lackluster competition, but doing so convincingly was important to this team going into the playoffs. Kirk is a big reason that happened. I still think he's in the 15-20 range of NFL quarterback, but he is our QB for the moment and you have to pay him to keep him. We'll see how he does in the playoffs against better teams.

GreenBay offers a unique challenge to both Kirk Cousins & Joe Barry... Rodgers hasn't had a very good year (by his standards), and it's pretty clear that not having Jordy Nelson has really crippled that offense. However, Joe Barry's defense is one of the worst in the league & the Redskins will have to score a bunch of points against a middle-of-the-pack defense that does everything average and nothing great. Green Bay seems to be able to get to the QB, better than most... that's about it.

We have to keep pressure off of Cousins & we have to score a lot... McVay & Cousins have to be excellent and Joe Barry has to be competent for us to win... I liked how they ran the ball with Alfred the last 3 games. Alfred averaged ~4.7 yds/carry and had 50 carries. They need to run the ball effectively against the Packers to setup play-action.
 
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