Redskins’ Cousins about to cash in
QB showing he deserves payday next season
Want to know what it feels like to have a winning Powerball ticket in your back pocket? Just ask Kirk Cousins, who is going to hit the jackpot this offseason if he finishes what he’s started as the quarterback of the Washington Redskins.
Cousins would have to do a belly flop of epically bad proportions not to assure himself of a massive payday after this season, one in which he’s guided Washington to a 6-4-1 record and has thrown for the secondmost yards (3,540) in the NFL.
Playing under the franchise tag this year for a cool $19.95 million, Cousins will either break the bank by receiving a long-term extension from the Redskins that likely averages a little more than $20 million per year, or he will come back on another one-year tag, this time for an even heftier $23,943,600.
Either way, he’s about to cash in big time.
Cousins, of course, will tell you that his contract situation is the furthest thing from his mind as he and his teammates prepare to face the Cardinals (4-6-1) Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium. And that’s what he did say, in fact, while talking with Arizona reporters during a conference call on Wednesday.
“I just don’t really feel like it’s where my focus is right now,” said Cousins, who has completed 84 of 116 pass attempts (72.4 percent) for 1,086 yards (362 per game) with eight touchdowns and no interceptions in his past three games alone. “I’m just focused on the Arizona Cardinals. I’ve got enough to worry about with them. I don’t need to be worried about what’s going to happen several months from now.”
He actually doesn’t have to worry at all. Cousins has done
enough to prove his worth to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and General Manager Scott McCloughan.
True to his character, however, the son of a pastor said he will always feel as if he has something to prove. That’s how he turned his collegiate career into a success at Michigan State and how he made it this far in the NFL upon being the second quarterback Washington chose in the 2012 draft.
The Redskins selected Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 overall pick that year and, 100 spots later, much to the surprise of almost every NFL analyst, plucked Cousins in the fourth round.
“I think I’ll always have something prove,” he said. “I think that’ll be going on until I’m done playing football and then beyond that, so the process never really ends.”
You’d think this guy could start enjoying his lot in life a little bit more these days. Cousins can’t even admit that he’s having the most fun he’s ever had. To hear him tell it, there’s too much at stake.
“I think you never feel comfortable in this league, you’re always trying to push,” he said. “You just know how competitive it is and how easily you can get knocked off if you’re not at the top of your game at all times. With five games to go, it just feels like there’s a lot left to be done, a lot left to prove and it starts by coming to Arizona and being ready to go.”
Win-loss records notwithstanding, Sunday’s game pits one of the league’s best defenses against one of the best offenses. The Cardinals are ranked first on total defense, allowing just 294 yards per game. Their pass defense ranks second, allowing just 195.1. Washington is ranked second in total offense (426.4) and second in passing offense (314.8). Something’s got to give. “Every week it’s a great challenge,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “It’s one play here, one play there. Last season, (the Cardinals) were 13-3 and ran through the NFC and did a great job. This year, they’ve had some close games that haven’t gone their way. They missed a couple field goals, had the tie against Seattle. They just had some close games that didn’t go their way.
“But the talent is still there. Carson Palmer is a great player. Obviously, Larry Fitzgerald is a Hall of Fame-type player. (Michael) Floyd’s a good player. Jermaine (Gresham) is a good player. I had him (in Cincinnati). And David Johnson is one of the best running backs in the game. You put the No. 1 defense out there and I can’t put a finger on why their record is what it is, but I do say they have as talented a roster of any team we’ve faced this year.”
Before it’s over, the Redskins might also have their best quarterback in franchise history with Kirk Cousins. Take a look at what he’s already done and where he ranks in some of the following categories:
Cousins, in 2016, has the most passing yards (3,540) of any Redskins quarterback through the first 11 games of a season. Sonny Jurgensen, with 3,012 yards in 1967, ranks second.
His six 300-yard games this season are just one from tying his own single-season club record set a year ago.
His 20 touchdown passes are tied with Jurgensen (1964) for the secondmost in team history through the first 11 games of a season. Jurgensen also had 24 through 11 games in 1967. Cousins is on pace to challenge Jurgensen’s single-season TD record of 31.
At age 28, it can be said Cousins is only now entering his prime. His best football likely is ahead of him, which must be a very comforting thought for Gruden.
“He’s exceeded expectations so far,” Gruden said, “but we still have high expectations for the results of our football team and the rest of the season here to come so we’ll put the final grade out when the season is over. But as far as him as a person and as a player, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the way he’s been handling the situation and been performing.”