Washington Redskins fail to reach long-term deal with QB Kirk Cousins

At the close of the franchise tag deadline, the Washington Redskins have failed to come to a long-term agreement with quarterback Kirk Cousins, and he will become the NFL’s first quarterback to play two straight seasons on the franchise tag. In a statement by Redskins president Bruce Allen, the Redskins offered a deal that would have made him “at least the second highest-paid player by average per year in NFL history”, but the Cousins camp opted in favor of playing year-to-year.
Over the last two season as starter, Cousins has been one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. In 2016, Cousins had the eighth highest accuracy percentage on deep throws (50.0 percent), seventh highest accuracy percentage while under pressure (67.1 percent) and the eighth highest accuracy percentage while kept clean (79.6 percent).
Cousins finished the 2016 campaign with a PFF overall grade of 85.9, which ranked eighth of all quarterbacks in the league. Since 2015, Cousins has an adjusted completion percentage of 77.3 percent, the fifth highest mark among quarterbacks with at least 600 drop backs – and only Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Sam Bradford are above him. By failing to reach a long-term deal, the Redskins will now risk losing Kirk Cousins in free agency in 2018.