Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Rapoport: Kirk Cousins won’t be traded to the 49ers
Feb 28, 2017 at 12:50 PM
•
Ian Rapoport of
NFL Media is reporting that Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is not going to be traded to the San Francisco 49ers or anywhere else. On Tuesday, Washington used the exclusive franchise tag on Cousins, which will guarantee the quarterback $23.94 million for 2017. That is different from the non-exclusive franchise tag, which would still allow Cousins to seek an offer from another team. However, that team would have needed to compensate Washinton with two first-round selections if it signed Cousins.
The problem with the exclusive tag is that any interested team, like the 49ers, would not be able to determine if it would be able to sign Cousins to a long-term deal because it cannot speak to him or his agent. Obviously, giving up valuable draft picks would be too high a cost if it cannot guarantee that it would be able to work out a long-term contract.
"Really, the Redskins, what they did was answer one of the biggest questions of the 2017 offseason with one move," Rapoport said on
NFL Network. "They decided that they're not going to trade him to the San Francisco 49ers. They decided that they're not going to trade him anywhere. He's going to be their quarterback for the next year and that is that."
Rapoport went on to explain that because Cousins has now been tagged twice in his career – both by Washington in back-to-back seasons – he cannot be tagged again because of the cost involved in doing it a third time. He is essentially free of the franchise tag for the remainder of his career.
Rapoport: Cousins not going anywhere, won't be traded to 49ers
Of course, the exclusive tag does mean that Washington could negotiate a trade with other teams and that Cousins is not allowed to speak to anyone except his current club. However, it does not sound like Rapoport believes that will happen. The 49ers were expected to discuss the possibility of a trade for the quarterback at the NFL Scouting Combine, which kicked off this week.
Unless Washington and Cousins agree on a long-term contract, the quarterback will be able to test free agency in 2018, when a team like the 49ers would be able to sign him without the need to give up draft picks as compensation. Of course, they will have to compete with any other quarterback-needy team that shows interest in Cousins.
ESPN has reported that
Cousins would be open to signing a long-term deal with San Francisco. "The source told
ESPN that Cousins would not sign a long-term deal if he were traded anywhere else -- right now," wrote John Keim of
ESPN. "But much of that is based on a desire to be in San Francisco and a lack of familiarity with other teams. Cousins is a stickler for routine and familiarity."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington when Cousins was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The quarterback had the best season of his career in 2016, completing 67-percent of his passes for 4,917 yards and throwing 25 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. In 2015, Cousins threw 29 touchdowns while completing nearly 70-percent of his passes.
In 2016, Cousins earned the eighth-highest overall grade among NFL quarterbacks from advanced statistics site
Pro Football Focus.
(h/t to Zain Naqvi for the find)
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Rapoport: Sam Darnold will 'more likely than not' be 49ers' Week 1 starting QB
Ah, San Francisco 49ers offseason quarterback drama. We haven't had that since … well, last offseason. If there is one thing you can count on with the Bay Area team on a yearly basis, it's quarterback drama.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made one thing clear over the last two days: If he were healthy, Brock Purdy would be the frontrunner to start Week 1 of the 2023 season. However, he is recovering from his March 10 surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right elbow. That will keep him off the practice field until maybe early September.
That timeline could extend beyond September. It's just too early for
Podcast: 49ers with Grant Cohn: Are the 49ers the favorites in the NFC with Trey Lance?
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Mar 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Grant Cohn discuss whether the 49ers are favorites in the NFC after free agency.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
?feature=share
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our
49ers considered trading Mike McGlinchey last year
Mike McGlinchey received a life-changing payday, signing a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos. The offensive tackle has known for a while that he would not return to the San Francisco 49ers, the only NFL team he has played for and the one that made him the No. 9 overall pick in 2018.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear to McGlinchey that he was likely playing his final months for the team. There was too much money invested in other spots, and the 49ers knew they couldn't compete with other interested teams.
Behind the scenes, Lynch and Shanahan kept McGlinchey in the loop of what the team was thinking, and everything pointed to the tackle playing elsewhere in 2023 … maybe even
Photo: Recovering 49ers QB Brock Purdy spotted by fan
Brock Purdy can begin throwing again sometime in June. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is expected to be ready to hit the field—practice or in-game—sometime in September.
Purdy is recovering from surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury sustained in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He hasn't been seen since the surgery, with his last public appearance taking place In Arizona, during the week leading to the Super Bowl.
One fan spotted Purdy, though, getting a photo with the 49ers quarterback (h/t TheSFNiners). As expected, Purdy is wearing a massive brace on his throwing arm,