Read this nugget in the WaPOST today and thought it worth repeating here.
“The most likely scenario is the team goes with a five-year deal which has most, if not all, of the money guaranteed in the first three years of the contract. Three years would also coincide with how long Coach Jay Gruden has left on his deal with the Redskins. Handcuffing the coach to the quarterback isn’t unheard of, and it is exactly what the Patriots did with quarterback Tom Brady, Coach Bill Belichcik [sic] and Nick Caserio, the team’s director of player personnel. It also wouldn’t be the worst idea.”
Neil Greenberg wrote that in his washingtonpost.com story, If the Redskins want to keep Kirk Cousins long term, it will cost $100 million.
The entire story is worth your time. (Go take a look. We’ll be here when you get back.)
It confirms what Hog Heaven has been saying since last season, that Cousins is a keeper and is worth the market-rate deal some team will offer him.
Not that Hog Heaven is all that football smart (just kidding). The idea that Cousins is a keeper comes as much from long business experience as from 54 years of watching Redskins football.
In tough negotiations, you must convince the other side that you have a credible alternative to whatever they are proposing.
Kirk’s agent can make a stronger case. Somebody is going to pay Kirk $20+ million per year on a long-term deal. There is no reason to accept less from Washington.
The Redskins could counter with Nate Sudfeld. We like Sudfeld as a prospect, but that means a team reset to zero in the 36 game starts Sudfeld needs to reach the level Cousins has arrived at today.
See? Not a credible alternative.
Letting Cousins walk now would be just as divisive to the fan base as pushing Robert Griffin III out the door. THAT would be a move worthy of Jimmy Haslam who might regret not upping Cleveland’s offer a few years ago of a fourth-round pick for Kirk. (We thank Gawd for Kirk’s sake the ‘Skins did not accept that offer.)
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