ARLINGTON — Don’t hold your breath on a long-term deal between the Washington Redskins and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Even Redskins President Bruce Allen, who is optimistic that a deal will get done, thinks the likelihood is that people will be waiting and wondering up until around the July 15 deadline.
“There’s been constant dialogue, I don’t want to say it’s every day,” Allen said Monday. “I do believe that July 15th, the league deadline, really, is going to be the driving point to it, but it’s ongoing.”
If Cousins does not sign a deal before the deadline, he will play under the $24 million franchise tag in 2017. The Redskins would have the option of using the transition tag or franchise tag in 2018, though both have downsides.The Redskins would risk losing Cousins and getting nothing in return under the transition tag if another team made Cousins an offer the Redskins were unwilling to match. Using the franchise tag for a third-straight year would cost $34.5 fully guaranteed, an unreasonable amount of the team’s salary cap space.
Where the Redskins are lucky is with Cousins’ attitude toward the process. The third-year quarterback never even hinted at a hold-out and clearly doesn’t have trouble playing under a one-year deal, as he did last season.
“Well, I think even Kirk said it. There’s a lot of players on the league on one-year deals so it’s the nature of it,” Allen said. “We’d like to get a long-term deal, and I think he should want to get a long-term deal.”
• Nora Princiotti can be reached at nprinciotti@washingtontimes.com.
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