Kirk Cousins may be planning to leave Washington following the 2017 season, but the quarterback insists he never tried to force the team to part ways with him sooner.
In an appearance on Adam Schefter’s “Know Them From Adam” podcast, Cousins said he was shopping for shoes with his wife when he first heard about the report that claimed he demanded a trade.
“I laughed and thought, ‘I don’t know where that comes from because that wasn’t the case,'” Cousins said. “Somehow it got twisted to where an employee of the store is using the word ‘demanded.’ That’s not the approach I took.
“I did inquire if there was any interest in trading me to get an understanding of their perspective. The answer I got back was Mr. Snyder communicated his belief in me and desire for me to remain (in Washington).”
Cousins has already signed his franchise tender, which guarantees him nearly $24 million for the 2017 season. It’s a virtual certainty that he won’t be franchise tagged again next offseason, as Washington would have to pay him $34.5 million for 2018 in that case. Cousins said he simply wants to know what his market value is, but he has not yet had an opportunity to explore that.
“I would be content to go to the market and see what the value is and settle for what that is. But because of the tag rules and the team’s use of the tag, that just hasn’t taken place.” he said. “So until that system of the tag is removed from the equation or from the collective bargaining agreement altogether, that will frame the entirety of my agent’s approach.”
Cousins admitted he thinks about the possibility of being traded because he never wants to be “blindsided,” though he says he believes Washington’s front office wants to keep him long-term. A recent report claimed Cousins has no intention of signing an extension with Washington as long as Bruce Allen remains the team’s president.
Washington has given Cousins one weapon to throw to in 2017 by signing Terrelle Pryor, but they already lost DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. If Cousins truly is intent on playing for a another team in 2018 and beyond, a trade may be Washington’s best option.
