Quarterback Kirk Cousins is playing through the 2016 season on the franchise tag. He might end up doing the same in 2017, too.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Washington Redskins are prepared to put the franchise tag on Cousins for a second consecutive season if they fail to come to terms on a long-term contract.
A second franchise tag would mean Cousins would get a salary just shy of $24 million in 2017, which would constitute a significant raise. That salary is roughly what Cousins would likely demand on a long-term deal as well.
The most likely scenario, according to La Canfora, is that Cousins will be tagged and then begin negotiating a longer contract using that as a baseline. Washington is said to be aware that a number of teams would pursue Cousins if he did hit the open market.
Going into the season, it wasn’t clear whether Cousins’s future was in Washington. He seems to have convinced them, putting them firmly in the playoff race again after a slow start.
