If Cousins is Franchised I believe he is traded to...

[bla bla bla]

The Browns

 

"But Cousins would need to agree to an extension before a deal is made?" - yes, if that team wants to sign him to a multi-year deal. What if a team doesn't mind having him for 1 season though? 

"The Redskins would need to receive at least a 3rd round pick to make it worth it for them to trade him?" - yes they would receive a 3rd round comp pick that would be at the end of round 3 next year. What if the first pick in the 4th round were available for this years draft? That may look attractive as opposed to essentially getting the same value for his comp pick next year. I won't dive into that 4th round pick so much because I still believe the Browns could give up a 3rd round pick for Cousins just as easily.

 

What do we know?

- The Browns have 5 picks in the first 2 rounds.

- The Browns tried to trade the last pick in round 2 for Alex Smith. They were not willing to extend Alex Smith if he were in fact traded there, that tells me that they only wanted the 1 year rental at $18M.

- The Browns have the most cap space of any team that could want Kirk. If the Browns took on this Franchise Tag they are looking at a cap hit of $34.5M, that would leave them with ~$80M in cap remaining. Since Cleveland is not usually a top destination for Free Agents they will have to overpay players to go there. What if the Browns wanted to focus on a few big Free Agents instead of a plethora of them? The Browns already have 55 players under contract for next year. $80M and a ton of draft picks should give them plenty of options for talent.

- The Browns have shown interest in Josh Allen, a player who most feel needs to sit for a year or two.

 

Why would the Browns want to trade a pick for Kirk?

- Browns could say "Kirk we have so much faith in you that we offered up a pick knowing you could leave us in 2019"

- The Browns would have between now and the draft to work out a long term deal. If Kirk still wants to test Free Agency then he will either sit out or play on the tag, I don't see him sitting out and leaving $34.5M on the table.

- If Kirk signs a long term deal with them before the draft then they can discuss how to use their top picks this year. If Kirk decides to play on the tag then the Browns will take Josh Allen at #1 while still likely landing Barkley at #4 or another top talent.

- Josh Allen will sit on the bench for the year like most believe he should, Kirk in the mean time would play this season.

- The Browns can then hope that he has developed enough chemistry with their team that he would want to resign with them on a long term deal. While in season the Browns are developing a winning culture while also grading out the roster to see if the talent is where it needs to be. If the talent is bad then they know where to focus their money, if the talent plays well then they realize they are just a QB away.

- If he doesn't want to sign with them after the season, then he walks and the Browns have Allen vs Kizer in 2019. If Kirk does want to resign with them then they will be able to trade Allen and have Kizer as their backup. Since Allen sat all year his stock likely won't fall very far, I believe they could get a first round pick for him next year. Obviously that wouldn't be the #1 pick so you still lose some value but you would have signed Cousins so the goal of getting a franchise QB was hit. Think of it as getting 2 cracks at getting a franchise QB for the price of moving down in the first round plus a 3rd round pick.

 

Why would the Redskins do this?

- They would be receiving a pick this year instead of next year, if it were a 3rd round pick it would be even higher than the comp 3rd they would receive.

- By franchising Cousins it removes Minnesota and Denver from the conversation, I don't think either team wants to risk a pick higher than what the Browns would give up for a 1 year rental. I could see the Browns offering as much as the 35th pick in round 2, that would mean that is higher than Denver or Minnesota could go before needing to offer a 1st round pick. I don't think either team would move a 1st for Kirk plus pay him all that money. 

- It would send Kirk out of the NFC

- If the Browns are indeed the highest pick then the Redskins would send their QB to the worst franchise in the NFL as a big ole FU to Kirk for toying with them.

- By the time Kirk becomes a Free Agent next offseason, the Broncos, Vikings, Jets, Bills, and Cardinals will all have likely found a solution or will be working on a solution at QB. This will throw Cousins world for a loop he'll need to move 2 times in 2 years if he doesn't want to play in Cleveland.

 

End Conclusion 

I didn't believe it before but I believe it now, Kirk Cousins will be franchised and traded. I think at the very least the Browns offer a pick but knowing what we know from all that I just laid out, maybe another team offers more than what the Browns are willing to give up.

[slats]

Cousins has to sign the tender for Washington to trade him. No way he signs it to spend a year in NFL purgatory before hitting free agency again, even for $34M. All Cleveland can do is reduce his value on the open market. 

[UnitedWhofans]

Just now, slats said:

Cousins has to sign the tender for Washington to trade him. No way he signs it to spend a year in NFL purgatory before hitting free agency again, even for $34M. All Cleveland can do is reduce his value on the open market. 

Believe it or not, the Jets would make more sense in that scenario because of the relationship with Bates. He probably would figure that it would be easier to raise his value with him

[bla bla bla]

3 minutes ago, slats said:

Cousins has to sign the tender for Washington to trade him. No way he signs it to spend a year in NFL purgatory before hitting free agency again, even for $34M. All Cleveland can do is reduce his value on the open market. 

The Redskins have the right to franchise him. If he doesn't sign it then he sits out for the year or sign the tender. If he signs the tender then he is under contract and has no say in where he is traded.

[bla bla bla]

4 minutes ago, UnitedWhofans said:

Believe it or not, the Jets would make more sense in that scenario because of the relationship with Bates. He probably would figure that it would be easier to raise his value with him

Yes but if Cousins signs the franchise tag he doesn't have a say in where he goes. It's either sit out for 2018 or take the money.

[Integrity28]

I have an opinion on the most popular thread on the board today. I’m going to start a new thread to tell you about it.

[bla bla bla]

Just now, Integrity28 said:

I have an opinion on the most popular thread on the board today. I’m going to start a new thread to tell you about it.

Pretty much haha I felt it was a long enough topic that it could warrant it's own discussion.

[Pcola]

Belichick refused to trade Garapollo to the Browns and took less to get him to SF.  KC took less to trade A.Smith to get him to Wash instead of Cleveland.

So I get that maybe Cleveland would need something league orchestrated like this to get a QB.  But their new consultant, the drunkard That was recently fired in Wash called Cousins “not special.”  Not sure if he was speaking sincerely or not, but why the heck would they trade a pick for the right to make a “not special” QB the highest paid player in the NFL when they could get someone who might be special with the top pick in the draft?

[bla bla bla]

3 minutes ago, Pcola said:

Belichick refused to trade Garapollo to the Browns and took less to get him to SF.  KC took less to trade A.Smith to get him to Wash instead of Cleveland.

So I get that maybe Cleveland would need something league orchestrated like this to get a QB.  But their new consultant, the drunkard That was recently fired in Wash called Cousins “not special.”  Not sure if he was speaking sincerely or not, but why the heck would they trade a pick for the right to make a “not special” QB the highest paid player in the NFL when they could get someone who might be special with the top pick in the draft?

Read my post completely and you'll see why the Browns would benefit. They have more money than they can really spend in Free Agency so a 1 year rental while having $80M more in cap is pretty good.

[rangerous]

28 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

The Browns

 

"But Cousins would need to agree to an extension before a deal is made?" - yes, if that team wants to sign him to a multi-year deal. What if a team doesn't mind having him for 1 season though? 

"The Redskins would need to receive at least a 3rd round pick to make it worth it for them to trade him?" - yes they would receive a 3rd round comp pick that would be at the end of round 3 next year. What if the first pick in the 4th round were available for this years draft? That may look attractive as opposed to essentially getting the same value for his comp pick next year. I won't dive into that 4th round pick so much because I still believe the Browns could give up a 3rd round pick for Cousins just as easily.

 

What do we know?

- The Browns have 5 picks in the first 2 rounds.

- The Browns tried to trade the last pick in round 2 for Alex Smith. They were not willing to extend Alex Smith if he were in fact traded there, that tells me that they only wanted the 1 year rental at $18M.

- The Browns have the most cap space of any team that could want Kirk. If the Browns took on this Franchise Tag they are looking at a cap hit of $34.5M, that would leave them with ~$80M in cap remaining. Since Cleveland is not usually a top destination for Free Agents they will have to overpay players to go there. What if the Browns wanted to focus on a few big Free Agents instead of a plethora of them? The Browns already have 55 players under contract for next year. $80M and a ton of draft picks should give them plenty of options for talent.

- The Browns have shown interest in Josh Allen, a player who most feel needs to sit for a year or two.

 

Why would the Browns want to trade a pick for Kirk?

- Browns could say "Kirk we have so much faith in you that we offered up a pick knowing you could leave us in 2019"

- The Browns would have between now and the draft to work out a long term deal. If Kirk still wants to test Free Agency then he will either sit out or play on the tag, I don't see him sitting out and leaving $34.5M on the table.

- If Kirk signs a long term deal with them before the draft then they can discuss how to use their top picks this year. If Kirk decides to play on the tag then the Browns will take Josh Allen at #1 while still likely landing Barkley at #4 or another top talent.

- Josh Allen will sit on the bench for the year like most believe he should, Kirk in the mean time would play this season.

- The Browns can then hope that he has developed enough chemistry with their team that he would want to resign with them on a long term deal. While in season the Browns are developing a winning culture while also grading out the roster to see if the talent is where it needs to be. If the talent is bad then they know where to focus their money, if the talent plays well then they realize they are just a QB away.

- If he doesn't want to sign with them after the season, then he walks and the Browns have Allen vs Kizer in 2019. If Kirk does want to resign with them then they will be able to trade Allen and have Kizer as their backup. Since Allen sat all year his stock likely won't fall very far, I believe they could get a first round pick for him next year. Obviously that wouldn't be the #1 pick so you still lose some value but you would have signed Cousins so the goal of getting a franchise QB was hit. Think of it as getting 2 cracks at getting a franchise QB for the price of moving down in the first round plus a 3rd round pick.

 

Why would the Redskins do this?

- They would be receiving a pick this year instead of next year, if it were a 3rd round pick it would be even higher than the comp 3rd they would receive.

- By franchising Cousins it removes Minnesota and Denver from the conversation, I don't think either team wants to risk a pick higher than what the Browns would give up for a 1 year rental. I could see the Browns offering as much as the 35th pick in round 2, that would mean that is higher than Denver or Minnesota could go before needing to offer a 1st round pick. I don't think either team would move a 1st for Kirk plus pay him all that money. 

- It would send Kirk out of the NFC

- If the Browns are indeed the highest pick then the Redskins would send their QB to the worst franchise in the NFL as a big ole FU to Kirk for toying with them.

- By the time Kirk becomes a Free Agent next offseason, the Broncos, Vikings, Jets, Bills, and Cardinals will all have likely found a solution or will be working on a solution at QB. This will throw Cousins world for a loop he'll need to move 2 times in 2 years if he doesn't want to play in Cleveland.

 

End Conclusion 

I didn't believe it before but I believe it now, Kirk Cousins will be franchised and traded. I think at the very least the Browns offer a pick but knowing what we know from all that I just laid out, maybe another team offers more than what the Browns are willing to give up.

makes some sense.  the browns have the draft capital to trade for a guy like him and the salary cap to meet the franchise price tag.  by the same reasoning it would almost make sense for the jets to try and pull the same deal.  they just don't have enough draft capital to draft enough good players if they give up a 3rd.

[Jetsplayer21]

35 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

The Browns

 

"But Cousins would need to agree to an extension before a deal is made?" - yes, if that team wants to sign him to a multi-year deal. What if a team doesn't mind having him for 1 season though? 

"The Redskins would need to receive at least a 3rd round pick to make it worth it for them to trade him?" - yes they would receive a 3rd round comp pick that would be at the end of round 3 next year. What if the first pick in the 4th round were available for this years draft? That may look attractive as opposed to essentially getting the same value for his comp pick next year. I won't dive into that 4th round pick so much because I still believe the Browns could give up a 3rd round pick for Cousins just as easily.

 

What do we know?

- The Browns have 5 picks in the first 2 rounds.

- The Browns tried to trade the last pick in round 2 for Alex Smith. They were not willing to extend Alex Smith if he were in fact traded there, that tells me that they only wanted the 1 year rental at $18M.

- The Browns have the most cap space of any team that could want Kirk. If the Browns took on this Franchise Tag they are looking at a cap hit of $34.5M, that would leave them with ~$80M in cap remaining. Since Cleveland is not usually a top destination for Free Agents they will have to overpay players to go there. What if the Browns wanted to focus on a few big Free Agents instead of a plethora of them? The Browns already have 55 players under contract for next year. $80M and a ton of draft picks should give them plenty of options for talent.

- The Browns have shown interest in Josh Allen, a player who most feel needs to sit for a year or two.

 

Why would the Browns want to trade a pick for Kirk?

- Browns could say "Kirk we have so much faith in you that we offered up a pick knowing you could leave us in 2019"

- The Browns would have between now and the draft to work out a long term deal. If Kirk still wants to test Free Agency then he will either sit out or play on the tag, I don't see him sitting out and leaving $34.5M on the table.

- If Kirk signs a long term deal with them before the draft then they can discuss how to use their top picks this year. If Kirk decides to play on the tag then the Browns will take Josh Allen at #1 while still likely landing Barkley at #4 or another top talent.

- Josh Allen will sit on the bench for the year like most believe he should, Kirk in the mean time would play this season.

- The Browns can then hope that he has developed enough chemistry with their team that he would want to resign with them on a long term deal. While in season the Browns are developing a winning culture while also grading out the roster to see if the talent is where it needs to be. If the talent is bad then they know where to focus their money, if the talent plays well then they realize they are just a QB away.

- If he doesn't want to sign with them after the season, then he walks and the Browns have Allen vs Kizer in 2019. If Kirk does want to resign with them then they will be able to trade Allen and have Kizer as their backup. Since Allen sat all year his stock likely won't fall very far, I believe they could get a first round pick for him next year. Obviously that wouldn't be the #1 pick so you still lose some value but you would have signed Cousins so the goal of getting a franchise QB was hit. Think of it as getting 2 cracks at getting a franchise QB for the price of moving down in the first round plus a 3rd round pick.

 

Why would the Redskins do this?

- They would be receiving a pick this year instead of next year, if it were a 3rd round pick it would be even higher than the comp 3rd they would receive.

- By franchising Cousins it removes Minnesota and Denver from the conversation, I don't think either team wants to risk a pick higher than what the Browns would give up for a 1 year rental. I could see the Browns offering as much as the 35th pick in round 2, that would mean that is higher than Denver or Minnesota could go before needing to offer a 1st round pick. I don't think either team would move a 1st for Kirk plus pay him all that money. 

- It would send Kirk out of the NFC

- If the Browns are indeed the highest pick then the Redskins would send their QB to the worst franchise in the NFL as a big ole FU to Kirk for toying with them.

- By the time Kirk becomes a Free Agent next offseason, the Broncos, Vikings, Jets, Bills, and Cardinals will all have likely found a solution or will be working on a solution at QB. This will throw Cousins world for a loop he'll need to move 2 times in 2 years if he doesn't want to play in Cleveland.

 

End Conclusion 

I didn't believe it before but I believe it now, Kirk Cousins will be franchised and traded. I think at the very least the Browns offer a pick but knowing what we know from all that I just laid out, maybe another team offers more than what the Browns are willing to give up.

The browns can get whatever qb they like in the draft. They aren’t going to be good next yr anyway. Use their picks and build for 19-20. I actually think they would be wise to trade down with 1 pick. They don’t need to get into cousins sweepstakes. It’s for win now, or teams who don’t have a top 4-5 pick. 

[varjet]

45 minutes ago, Jetsplayer21 said:

The browns can get whatever qb they like in the draft. They aren’t going to be good next yr anyway. Use their picks and build for 19-20. I actually think they would be wise to trade down with 1 pick. They don’t need to get into cousins sweepstakes. It’s for win now, or teams who don’t have a top 4-5 pick. 

I agree with this.  Why would te Browns waste the pick and money.  They can draft whomever they want and even sign a veteran in addition to Kizer.

i think it’s the Jets that trade for Cousins.  

[bla bla bla]

12 hours ago, varjet said:

I agree with this.  Why would te Browns waste the pick and money.  They can draft whomever they want and even sign a veteran in addition to Kizer.

i think it’s the Jets that trade for Cousins.  

Why do you think they offered a 2nd round pick for Alex Smith but refused to extend him? As for the rest of why it makes sense for them look at my reasonings in the initial post.

I could see us making a trade for Cousins too but I think the Browns can beat any trade we would be willing to do. 

[NYs Stepchild]

14 hours ago, bla bla bla said:

The Redskins have the right to franchise him. If he doesn't sign it then he sits out for the year or sign the tender. If he signs the tender then he is under contract and has no say in where he is traded.

He has to sign it but not until training camp. He's not going to make it easy.

[bla bla bla]

12 minutes ago, NYs Stepchild said:

He has to sign it but not until training camp. He's not going to make it easy.

If he doesn't sign it they'll remove it from him after the draft when teams have already filled out their rosters and won't be able to pay him what he wants this year. I'd be shocked if he turned down $34M when he knows he'll be able to sign an even bigger contract next offseason. Take the easy money and get your long term deal in 2019.

[BurnleyJet]

13 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

If he doesn't sign it they'll remove it from him after the draft when teams have already filled out their rosters and won't be able to pay him what he wants this year. I'd be shocked if he turned down $34M when he knows he'll be able to sign an even bigger contract next offseason. Take the easy money and get your long term deal in 2019.

They have signed Alex Smith, it's going to be Toxic. Redskins have very little leverage. They can't afford to keep both and everyone knows it. 

Cousins could sit on the bench for $34 million. Washington will get a 3rd round comp pick if he hits FA.

 No ones offering a 1st and paying him 30 mill per, the Skins are delusional but not surprising with who owns them!

[bla bla bla]

1 minute ago, BurnleyJet said:

They have signed Alex Smith, it's going to be Toxic. Redskins have very little leverage. They can't afford to keep both and everyone knows it. 

Cousins could sit on the bench for $34 million. Washington will get a 3rd  comp pick if he it's FA.

 No ones offering a 1st and paying him 30 mill per, the Skins are delusional but not surprising with who owns them!

They don't need to get a 1st for him, they only need to be offered a late 3rd round pick, but they could feasibly be willing to take the top pick in round 4 (basically the same value as a comp 3rd in 2019). 

[Snell41]

You had a hypothesis, were proven wrong over and over in the other thread so you double down and start a new thread. This is comical.


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

[BurnleyJet]

1 minute ago, bla bla bla said:

They don't need to get a 1st for him, they only need to be offered a late 3rd round pick, but they could feasibly be willing to take the top pick in round 4 (basically the same value as a comp 3rd in 2019). 

The problem is, Cousins will want to select the team he goes to, or he won't sign a long term with them, no ones taking a one year rental. I don't see this happening he goes to FA.

[Warfish]

15 hours ago, slats said:

Cousins has to sign the tender for Washington to trade him. No way he signs it to spend a year in NFL purgatory before hitting free agency again, even for $34M. All Cleveland can do is reduce his value on the open market. 

I have to believe that Cousins has made it clear to DC that he will sign no tenders of any kind.  And he'll make any attempt to sign-n-trade him into a nightmare.  He'd be foolish otherwise, but this IS the Skins we're talking about...

[bla bla bla]

6 minutes ago, BurnleyJet said:

The problem is, Cousins will want to select the team he goes to, or he won't sign a long term with them, no ones taking a one year rental. I don't see this happening he goes to FA.

I feel like you didn't read my original post because I addressed their rationale behind this situation.

[bla bla bla]

6 minutes ago, Warfish said:

I have to believe that Cousins has made it clear to DC that he will sign no tenders of any kind.  And he'll make any attempt to sign-n-trade him into a nightmare.  He'd be foolish otherwise, but this IS the Skins we're talking about...

Kirk would immediately sign if Franchised

This is from a few weeks ago, not sure if he feels the same way now but I'd have to imagine he's not opposed to playing on the franchise tag and cashing in on an even larger contract in 2019. 

[bla bla bla]

24 minutes ago, Snell41 said:

You had a hypothesis, were proven wrong over and over in the other thread so you double down and start a new thread. This is comical.

What was the point that proved me wrong? I was told a team would want a long term deal before a trade was made, I just gave a situation where a team may be okay without a long term deal. Do you think Kirk is willing to leave $34M on the table when he can likely get the same contract offers in 2019?

[BurnleyJet]

39 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

I feel like you didn't read my original post because I addressed their rationale behind this situation.

Thing is, I don't think anyone wants a one year rental at QB for 34 mill on the one year Tag. The rationale seems to be they have a lot of money.  The Browns have their pick of any QB in this stacked Draft, which I think is 1983 good. 

Why would they want a 30 year old QB when they aren't even remotely win now. They are building, they take Darnold and never look back. Give them two years the Browns are going to be very good. 

Do you think if the Jets was picking 1# in this years draft they would even think about Kirk? No way they take the best QB.

 

[Warfish]

34 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

Kirk would immediately sign if Franchised

This is from a few weeks ago, not sure if he feels the same way now but I'd have to imagine he's not opposed to playing on the franchise tag and cashing in on an even larger contract in 2019. 

That was before the Smith trade.  Yes, things have changed.

[bla bla bla]

1 minute ago, BurnleyJet said:

Thing is, I don't think anyone wants a one year rental at QB for 34 mill on the one year Tag. The rationale seems to be they have a lot of money.  The Browns have their pick of any QB in this stacked Draft, which I think is 1983 good. 

Why would they want a 30 year old QB when they aren't even remotely win now. They are building, they take Darnold and never look back. Give them two years the Browns are going to be very good. 

They were willing to trade a 2nd round pick for Alex Smith, yes that is an $18M vs $34M difference but I'm not sure they'll be able to sign that many valuable free agents this offseason. With $80M in cap space they could sign 4 players to $15M contracts. I don't think they'll land 4 premium players, so many teams have money it's foolish to think one team will reel in all of them. They have 55 players under contract so it would seem silly to me for them to go after the cheaper players for value when they have younger cheaper players already under contract. Basically I don't think the Browns will be able to spend all their cap space and trading for Kirk would net them 2 shots at getting a franchise QB while not hurting their future cap space.

[bla bla bla]

11 minutes ago, Warfish said:

That was before the Smith trade.  Yes, things have changed.

Yes I agree, but do you think Kirk would pass up $34M if he thought he could get a similar deal in 2019 FA?

[Stark]

So the Browns hired, Scot McCloughan as a draft assistant or something. And he publicly stated that he did not think Cousins was special, so either he was completely drunk, or blowing smoke. IF you are Cousins you wouldn't agree to a trade to the Browns with McCloughan there, why would you want to knowing he is there. 

 

[Jets Voice of Reason]

2 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

Yes I agree, but do you think Kirk would pass up $34M if he thought he could get a similar deal in 2019 FA?

There is just so much at risk for the Redskins though. What is stopping Kirk from threatening to not sign the tag until just before the season starts unless he gets the team he wants. It doesn't have to be what kirk ends up doing but could be posturing to get leverage and control on the situation. 

 

[bla bla bla]

Just now, Jets Voice of Reason said:

There is just so much at risk for the Redskins though. What is stopping Kirk from threatening to not sign the tag until just before the season starts unless he gets the team he wants. It doesn't have to be what kirk ends up doing but could be posturing to get leverage and control on the situation. 

If Kirk doesn't sign the tag by Free Agency then they can pull the tag and receive their 3rd round comp. I also don't think the Redskins offer the tag unless they know that they'll receive a pick for him.

[bla bla bla]

5 minutes ago, Stark said:

So the Browns hired, Scot McCloughan as a draft assistant or something. And he publicly stated that he did not think Cousins was special, so either he was completely drunk, or blowing smoke. IF you are Cousins you wouldn't agree to a trade to the Browns with McCloughan there, why would you want to knowing he is there. 

Considering Kirk demanded a trade last season after the Redskins fired Scot it would lead me to believe they are at least on decent terms. If the Browns are okay with a 1 year rental and Kirk is okay with $34M then I don't see the issue. I don't think Kirks value drops enough where he wouldn't receive the same guaranteed money next year.

[slats]

24 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

If Kirk doesn't sign the tag by Free Agency then they can pull the tag and receive their 3rd round comp. I also don't think the Redskins offer the tag unless they know that they'll receive a pick for him.

 

How would they ever know? Everyone who is interested in him is more interested in him as a free agent. No one would prefer to give up a pick for him. Who would tell Washington, "yeah, I guess if you tagged him we'd pony up a pick"? My guess: no one would tell them that. 

[#27TheDominator]

1 hour ago, Stark said:

So the Browns hired, Scot McCloughan as a draft assistant or something. And he publicly stated that he did not think Cousins was special, so either he was completely drunk, or blowing smoke. IF you are Cousins you wouldn't agree to a trade to the Browns with McCloughan there, why would you want to knowing he is there. 

 

The McCloughan-Cousins relationship is a strange one.  McCloughan took over as 'skins GM in 2015 and was supposedly pushing for Cousins to start over Griffin.  He was overruled, but Griffin got the concussion before the season and he got his way.  He also wanted to extend Cousins almost immediately.  The rest of the front office wanted to wait until they had more data on Cousins ability to start and didn't press negotiations. When they did, I think McCloughan was trying to low-ball him a bit and franchised him the first time.  He actually admitted "we kind of messed up" with the Cousins contract.  I think the struggle over what to do with Cousins was a big part of McCloughan getting the boot because his alcohol issues apparently weren't an issue for them. 

The "not special" comment is overblown. It's GM speak basically saying that he hasn't won yet. 

“Is he special? I don’t see special. But also, we were still building a roster around him to make him special. Jay Gruden does a great job play-calling. [Former Redskins offensive coordinator-turned-Los Angeles Rams Coach] Sean McVay did a great job play-calling to put him in positions to be successful. He’s talented. Talent is good at quarterback in the NFL. He’s won games. I know his record overall is not over .500. I know he has not won a playoff game. But he’s competitive. He works his tail off. He’s so methodical. Every day he has planned out. He’s always in the building, he’s always watching tape, he’s always talking to coaches, he was talking to me. From the standpoint of the tangibles, they’re excellent. You just need to have some talent around him because you don’t want him to be throwing the ball 35 to 40 times to win the game.

It is basically a nothing comment.  This is a local radio guy's assessment, which I think sums it up nicely. 

“This is a nothing burger,” Paulsen told his 106.7 The Fan co-host, Danny Rouhier. “This, to me, was not news. It wasn’t interesting. And I didn’t find it provoking of much thought.”  “Scot McCloughan has never said Kirk Cousins was special,” Paulsen added. “The idea that, as the former Redskins general manager, he’s saying Kirk Cousins is not special, to me is known. He has comped him on our show — many times to me behind the scenes — but on our show he brought this up when we had him on it once. He thinks he’s Matt Hasselbeck.  “Does he think Matt Hasselbeck was special? No. Matt Hasselbeck was just a really good quarterback who threw for 4,000 yards in a season in Seattle and who got to a Super Bowl. You don’t have to be special to get to a Super Bowl, to win. Does he think Kirk Cousins is good? Yes, as he pointed out. Does he think you could win with Kirk Cousins? Yes. Did he try to sign Kirk Cousins multiple times? Yes, he did. He doesn’t think he’s special. Guess why. Who’s special? Who says Kirk Cousins is special? I don’t think Kirk Cousins is special. Do you?”  “No,” Rouhier said.  “Kirk Cousins is good. Good is not special,” Paulsen said. “The word ‘elite’ I guess gets thrown out. Now special’s the new thing. Is Kirk Cousins elite? No, he’s probably not elite. Kirk Cousins is a fringe Top 10 quarterback in this league. That is irrefutable. That is what he is. He’s one of the five statistical best quarterbacks over the last three years. If you don’t think he’s a Top-5 quarterback, I think that’s perfectly reasonable. It’s probably true.

[flgreen]

2 hours ago, bla bla bla said:

If he doesn't sign it they'll remove it from him after the draft when teams have already filled out their rosters and won't be able to pay him what he wants this year. I'd be shocked if he turned down $34M when he knows he'll be able to sign an even bigger contract next offseason. Take the easy money and get your long term deal in 2019.

Oh he'll sign it, he's already said God wants him to play under a one year contract.  He just won't negotiate a long term contract until he's a FA.

The Browns would be coughing up a draft pick, and $34,000,000 for a one year rental during a non-playoff year.  Great for Cousins, not so much for the Browns 

[bla bla bla]

7 hours ago, flgreen said:

Oh he'll sign it, he's already said God wants him to play under a one year contract.  He just won't negotiate a long term contract until he's a FA.

The Browns would be coughing up a draft pick, and $34,000,000 for a one year rental during a non-playoff year.  Great for Cousins, not so much for the Browns 

They just tried to trade a 2nd for Alex Smith on a $20M deal. Yes it's another $14M on top of it but maybe that is worth it to possibly get two shots at having a franchise QB?