Now that the Washington Redskins (5-7) season is all but done and their chances of making the playoffs are very slim, the question now arises; what will the future of Kirk Cousins be in Washington? Does he get franchise tagged again? Does he sign a long-term deal with Washington, or will he walk away from the organization all-together at seasons end?

First, if the Redskins do decide to franchise Cousins for the third consecutive year, that would mean that club would owe him more than $34 million in 2018, and giving him the transition tag would cost more than $28 million. So, the only feasible thing for the Redskins to do is to sign him long-term but that seems like a long shot. Especially considering the two sides haven’t been able to come to an agreement for the past two years, as SB Nation states in this article

A question was asked, “Why don’t the Redskins talk to Cousins now and just get it over with?” So, the reason being for that is legally the Redskins can’t talk to Cousins about a long-term deal due to him being franchise tagged. Although once the season is over the Redskins will have their shot to speak to Cousins about a long-term deal.

So, let’s answer the question. If Cousins leaves Washington, where will he go? Here are a few responses:


(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

At the beginning of the season, it made perfect sense for Cousins to pack his bags at the end of the year and head out to the west coast to reunite with former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is finishing up his first year as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. However, at the end of October the Niners and Patriots came to an agreement that would send Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco, which they stated was going to be their future quarterback.


(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

What about Pittsburgh? Well, that’s up to Ben Roethlisberger. As Ed Bouchette of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated back in late July, Roethlisberger mentioned that retirement was still an option. As mentioned in the article, his wife would like to see him give up football.

Then it happened, Pittsburgh got blown out by Jacksonville at home, 30-9 and the famous quote from Big Ben captured airwaves. “Maybe I don’t have it anymore,” he said after the game. That was undoubtedly one of the worst games in his career as he threw five interceptions. Since that loss though, the Steelers have won six straight, so maybe he’s still got it. Maybe, just maybe, he’s not done just yet.

(Getty Images)

As for Jacksonville their quarterback currently is Blake Bortles. A third overall selection in 2014 who has not lived up to the hype since he was at Central Florida. It would be easy to jump on the Jags bandwagon if Bortles wasn’t their main guy behind center.

Maybe the Jags would be in the playoffs if they had a better guy at the quarterback position. Bortles has not been good, let’s be honest, he’s been terrible. In 57 games with Jacksonville, he’s 18-38 with 81 touchdowns and 59 interceptions. An 18-38 record won’t keep you in the NFL and the door to Bortles’ career seems to be closing in Jacksonville, especially if Cousins hits the open market.

(Photo: Denver Broncos)

Then there is Denver. It is hard to tell who’s their quarterback. They’ve tried every option available so far and they’ve failed. Paxton Lynch has only played in one game that resulted in a loss. Brock Osweiler, according to NFL.com has played in four games (three starts), all resulting in the same, a loss. The surprise of all though is Trevor Siemian, who’s 3-4 in eight games this year with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. If it wasn’t for him Denver would be looking at a winless season.

(Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

But there could be a darkhorse team in the running as well. That team is the New York Giants. After recently benching Eli Manning for Geno Smith and ending Manning’s 210 consecutive regular-season games started with the team. Obviously, that did not bode well with Manning as he stated in an emotional interview saying, “It’s hard, it’s been a hard day to handle this, but, you know, hang in there and figure this out.”

So, lastly, where does Kirk go? Top 4 teams in order:

  • Denver
  • Jacksonville
  • Pittsburgh
  • New York Giants (if Eli leaves and so Cousins could own Washington twice a year)

 

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