The Washington Redskins have gone through quarterbacks like most people go through television shows today. You know, binge on one and discard it when it has served its purpose even if its lifespan isn’t over.
If the Redskins aren’t careful, they could be in for another round of “name that quarterback,” as Kirk Cousins is scheduled for free agency if a deal can’t be worked out quickly after the season is over.
Some believe Cousins is the answer, some question if he can really bring this team to the promised land. But, the last franchise quarterback in D.C., Joe Theismann, believes the team would be crazy not to re-sign Cousins.
Theismann spoke to the Washington Post and made it well known that not only the fans, but fellow players, might see any lack of a deal done for Cousins as really troubling.
“How much more do you need to see?” Joe Theismann asked this week on 106.7 The Fan’s “Grant and Danny” program. “What does that say to the fans and to the other players on the team, when somebody plays at the level that Kirk is playing at, and he doesn’t get what would be fair compensation — whatever that compensation might be? The players are sitting there going, ‘Wow, look at what this guy has done, and this is the way they reward him?’ . . . You’ve invested all this time in him. Why would you not continue to have him be your guy?”
We all know that Daniel Snyder loves him some free agency, and a negative thought towards the organization and ability to pay the players what they are worth could be a huge problem for an organization suddenly in need of a franchise quarterback after eschewing a likely one right in front of them.
Theismann also believes Cousins is one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL today.
“My feeling is he is a top 10 quarterback,” Theismann said of Cousins. “I’ll tell you something, you get [past] the top 12 or so, you can throw a blanket over everybody. So from where he is to where he’s going to go and the ability to be able to do things, I say he’s in that category. . . . I rank him easily inside the top 10. . . .”
However, some inside and outside the fanbase are actually debating the status of Cousins as a quality quarterback in the NFL.
Yes, some people actually believe the man who has rewritten the franchise’s record book and likely earned two straight playoff appearances isn’t worth keeping around.
Theismann also points out that Cousins’ story is more than just his ability on the field. He is a quality ambassador for the organization and a model citizen. In a league that seemingly has a new arrest every week, Cousins isn’t making waves along with being a quality quarterback.
Of course, any deal that gets done needs to be just that — a deal — on both sides. The Redskins need to treat Cousins like the franchise quarterback he is and Cousins needs to realize he isn’t going to be the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Unless those two sides budge, and neither did this past offseason, it very well could be back to the drawing board for a franchise seemingly finally getting its stuff together.
