Kirk Cousins says part of him would like to ‘get settled’ on next contract

VIENNA, Virginia — Each of the last two offseasons for Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins have been different.

In 2016, the Redskins applied the franchise tag and ultimately wanted Cousins to prove his 2015 season wasn’t a fluke. Last year, Cousins was again given the tag, but declined to formally make a counteroffer for a long-term contract — instead playing the 2017 season on a one-year deal to assess where the Redskins were after the season.

Now as the Cousins and the franchise prepare to go through the same dance for a third straight year, Cousins told 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier on Friday he isn’t sure the “year-to-year” approach will work in the long run.

Asked if he would be OK playing on yet another franchise tag, Cousins took a long pause after saying, “Ummmm.”

“There’s part of me that would like to get settled,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about what if that happens because then [the deadline for a long-term deal] becomes July. … Eventually, it’s about getting settled. You can only go year-to-year for so long.”

Cousins addressed his future in a two-hour broadcasted event at Jammin Java as part of a charity event. The venue was sold out, raising $10,000 for the charity D.C Dream Center. It was the first time since the regular season ended that Cousins has spoken publicly on the subject.

So, does Cousins want to be with the Redskins moving forward? “The short answer is yes,” the quarterback said.

But he acknowledged the process is more complicated than that. Cousins said he and his agent, Mike McCartney, will take their time in plotting out the following months, waiting to see if the Redskins apply a franchise or a transition tag. Washington has until March 6 to apply either of the two.

If the franchise tag is given, Cousins will make $34.4 million on another one-year deal. While Cousins didn’t seem thrilled about the prospect of playing on a tag again, he said he would sign the contract and not hold out.

The Redskins can also give the transition tag — a one-year, $28 million contract. This creates wiggle room for both parties, allowing Cousins to explore the free agent market and gives the Redskins the option to match any offer Cousins brings forward from another team.

Cousins said he and his agent will likely talk to other teams if applied the transition tag, so he can gauge his worth.

If Cousins is not satisfied with any of the offers, he can sign the transition tag, locking him into another one-year deal.

“I’m trying to be thorough so I’m trying to go around and get all the facts that I can and take advantage of that opportunity,” Cousins said. “So I’ll certainly be thorough and gather information [and] make visits. … Knowledge is power, so I’m going to try and gather as much as I can.”

Part of Cousins’ event involved taking questions from fans. Comically, a young fan innocently asked which teams Cousins would like to play for if he doesn’t return to Washington, drawing a laugh from the quarterback.

Cousins, for the most part, politely dodged the question, saying the only qualifier would be to play somewhere he could win.

He said his decision also won’t be about money, but “you want to win and be well compensated. There’s a balance.”

Paulsen and Rouhier asked Cousins if he believes a team can still be competitive when shelling out large amounts of money to a few positions.

Cousins cited the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have built an elite defense while paying top dollar to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and others.

Cousins added his next contract necessarily wouldn’t be about the total dollars, but the amount of guaranteed money. In the NFL, contracts aren’t usually fully guaranteed, giving the players uncertainty that Cousins would like to avoid.

“”Guarantees are a big part of what Mike McCartney is going to be talking about with whoever he’s talking with to say again, ’This is something if you’re not going to do, then we might as well just play on one-year deals,’” he said. “Guarantees are really that security, or at least knowing I’m going to be here, is why I would commit to being here. If I don’t know that, why would I extend commitment? It’s like dating instead of getting married.”

The Redskins, of course, will also have a say in any negotiations that take place. Narratively, there have been questions if the Redskins want Cousins in the long term. The quarterback said he believes the team does, pointing to last year’s effort to try and sign him to a multiyear deal.

But the two never reached a deal last year, with Cousins wanting to evaluate how the year unfolded. Cousins gave credit to the Redskins coaching staff, praising Jay Gruden’s play-calling and the way the staff dealt with the copious amounts of injuries. The Redskins had 20 players on injured reserve.

In the coming months, Cousins said he and his agent will make sure to examine if the Redskins “are the right fit.”

“We talk about winning is so important and I want to be excellent at what I do,” he said. “I want to be associated with excellence and as I’ve said, if I feel like winning and excellence is here, I just don’t have a lot of reason to look elsewhere.”