This week’s been heavy on Redskins news, from the latest on DeSean Jackson‘s status, to counterpart Pierre Garcon being a coveted commodity, to updates on what’s been an interesting month for the team’s defensive staff. Here’s more coming out of Washington.
- As a second standoff with Kirk Cousins appears to be brewing, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk injects another scenario that could either keep the quarterback in Washington on a year-to-year basis or affect negotiations on a potential long-term deal. While the Redskins using the franchise tag on their quarterback this year would pay him $23.94MM in 2017, doing so again in ’18 would come out to nearly $35MM. An untenable figure, but Florio notes the team could use the transition tag on Cousins in 2018 to lower that number. Applying the lesser-used tag would bring a 20 percent increase from Cousins’ prospective 2017 tag salary, producing a $28.78MM amount. This arrangement, while unlikely, could have an impact on how the team proceeds with Cousins’ deal in the coming months, with the first two years of said proposal reflecting the franchise-plus-transition amounts instead of the salaries mirroring a two-franchise tag format.
- This $52.72MM over two years would make Cousins the highest-paid player in football, but that’s a possibility, notes ESPN.com’s John Keim. Cousins putting a near-5,000-yard season on top of what was a quality second half of the 2015 slate would obviously make him a viable passer on the open market. Although he may not get there, other teams would be lining up with interest, with the 49ers being just one. With that now factoring into his deal, Keim writes there’s a “good chance” Cousins’ AAV exceeds Andrew Luck‘s league-high $24.594MM. But with Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr entering walk years, and now the Falcons sending out signals they want to compensate Matt Ryan for his MVP season, Keim predicts one of these four passers being the league’s highest-paid player before next season starts.
- Kory Lichtensteiger resided as Washington’s starting center for most of this decade, but after the 31-year-old retired, Spencer Long is now in that position. And both JP Finlay and Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com expect Long to stay as the starting center next season and possibly serve as the long-term answer. Long’s rookie contract runs through 2017. Tandler also notes Scot McCloughan eyed now-Colts center Ryan Kelly with the Redskins’ first-round pick last year despite a 2014 third-round investment in Long.
- The Redkins have used a 3-4 defense since Mike Shanahan‘s arrival in 2010, but Finlay argues they should pivot back to a 4-3 look unless a competent nose tackle arrives via the draft. Finlay expects new DC Greg Manusky to stay with a 3-4 look. Manusky’s been a DC for nine seasons — with the 49ers, Chargers and Colts — and utilized this alignment in each.
- Substandard work during his first two offseasons will induce Bruce Allen to apply pressure on McCloughan during this one.
Ask the browns how well the transition tag works.. When they placed it on Alex Mack
A team willing to tag someone with a transition tag is also willing to let them walk. The transition tag is just so a team could match the offer if they want to. They’re most likely not willing to sign the player to his contract demands, but also doesn’t him to walk without at least seeing what offers would be like. The transition tag is also usually below what the player wants, so there is not a really a worry of the player accepting that tag while also hurting the team.
The scenario above showing what Cousins could make is a good example of how far out of control salaries have gotten in the NFL.
Nobody is worth that much money.
It’s not a good example of how far out of control salaries have gotten. It’s to prevent teams from placing the franchise tag on a player, thereby limiting his job security, year after year. If the salary stayed the same (or saw a minimal increase) QBs would never end up signing extensions since teams would just hit them with the franchise tag multiple years in a row.