Kirk Cousins Will Follow Through With Grievance If Tagged

The grievance rumored to be filed if the Redskins use the franchise tag on Kirk Cousins for a third straight season will commence, Kimberley Martin of the Washington Post reports.

Cousins’ camp will file a grievance through the NFLPA if the Redskins tag him again, per Martin. This finalized stance comes two days ahead of the first day teams can designate franchise players. Beginning Tuesday, teams have two weeks to use their tags on players they intend to try to sign by the July 16 deadline.

The Redskins did this with Cousins the past two seasons, and he collected more than $44MM as a result of those one-year setups following contentious negotiations, but they do not plan to have him as their quarterback this season. That will be a problem for the team’s case.

Washington having agreed to trade for Alex Smith, and having an extension lined up, would violate a section of the CBA that indicates teams must only tag players if they have a good-faith intention to employ them at or around that salary for the following season. The Redskins’ Smith extension will ensure they have no plans of paying Cousins $34.47MM in 2018, and this purpose would purely be for compensation. Martin notes several executives around the league view this as a spiteful move on Washington’s part.

The 29-year-old passer figures to have a host of suitors should he reach free agency, and this grievance going his way would finalize his path to unrestricted free agency and ignite a frenzied stretch for teams planning for this rare quick-fix quarterback solution.

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