Who is Kirk Cousins?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

1. Do you think that the Redskins are still in the process of deciding if they want Kirk to be their starting QB going forward?

Yes. Would it be prudent to do otherwise?

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

2. If they were to decide not to re-sign him, wouldn't that set back the team building process?

If they decided not to sign a QB who finished the year with say 18 TDs and 23 INTs, and a record of 6-10, then I'd say the rebuilding process was already set back. Throwing good money at such a QB would be a terrible decision. If they decided not to sign a QB who finished with a flourish, then obviously that would be a dumb decision. Are you kind of getting the pattern that it makes sense to wait for all information from the final 7 games to come in?

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

2. If Kirk isn't the choice as QB of the future, where are we going to find another QB for next season?

Every fan's worst fear right here. If Cousins is horrible down the stretch then we can resign him for cheap, maybe he'll turn into something in a few years. And it's back to the draft... again.

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

4. If he is the choice as our QB, then it's a matter of coming to a deal with him and his agent. With that in mind, why would he sign for $12MM per year for three years (albeit mostly guaranteed) when he could simply hold out for more and force the Redskins to tag him and pay him @ $25MM in 2016, fully guaranteed and paid to him in 2016?

He could very well do that. But when I assess the personalities involved, I don't find a cut-throat negotiation very likely.

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

I ask these questions because I believe that Kirk is either now or may soon be in a much stronger negotiating position than most other posters here think.

You're absolutely right, if he shreds it the last 7 games then he'll have a very strong position. But if you sign him now, even if you sign him for less, you are taking a pretty big risk. What if he flops down the stretch? He's getting his first chance to start this year, he's taken a lot of strides. But one thing we've still not seen is how he'll do late in the season with playoff implications on the line. Can he rise to the big moment?

You're assessing the risk that we might have to pay out the ear to keep him, because your glasses are so burgundy & gold that you can barely think of any other scenario than Kirk shredding it. While I hope in my heart of hearts that's the case, you have to consider the possibility that he shrinks under the spotlight, or simply goes back to failing to take care of the ball.

It's prudent to wait. If he costs us $16M per year instead of $12M, it means that he did well this year and is proving he can be the man. What a nice problem to have.

A terrible problem to have would be commit $12M per year to a guy who reveals himself to be the next Mark Sanchez.

Let's wait and see.