Doug Williams Says Redskins Have No Plans on Tagging Kirk Cousins

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Kirk Cousins will be playing for a team not named the Washington Redskins in 2018. He is going to be one of the more sought after players in recent NFL history. How, he lands with his new team is the question?

Shortly after the Redskins traded for Alex Smith, the eventual replacement for Cousins, a report surfaced that Washington could franchise tag Cousins for a third straight year to work a trade in an effort to recoup some compensation for the departing quarterback. It’s a move that Cousins would reportedly file a grievance against.

On Wednesday, Senior VP of Player Personnel Doug Williams may have tipped the hand on if those rumors of trading Cousins are true or not. Speaking to reporters in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine, Williams called the soon-to-be former Redskins’ quarterback, “a free agent, for sure.”

“He’s a free agent, for sure,” Williams stated, per Chris Lingebach of 106.7 the Fan. “Actually, I saw [Senior VP of Football Ops/General Counsel, Eric] Schaffer and his agent talking today down in the lobby. But a lot of it depends on which way they want to go. I think everybody has pretty much heard what might go down, and what could go down and what have you, but I don’t know how much more talking that they can do at this point.”

The Redskins have until Mar. 6 to decide whether to place a franchise tag on Cousins. If they choose to, Cousins would receive a guaranteed $34.5 million in 2018. The move would momentarily place a cap hit for the Redskins, who roughly have close to that amount to work with currently in cap space when free agency starts officially on Mar. 14. It’s a risky move to say the least and one that Williams said, he has not had any discussion on with the Redskins’ brass.

“I don’t think so, but you know what, it’s not too late,” Williams answered about if Redskins would tag Cousins. “But we haven’t really talked about that. I think the media has come up with those scenarios more than what we have talked about it, because I can’t remember one meeting where we talked about the possibility of tagging him.”

If Cousins reaches free agency, as expected, he is potentially set to garner the highest-paid contract in NFL history. The Vikings and Cousins have “mutual interest” according to reports. The Denver Broncos and New York Jets have also emerged as suitors for his services.

As for why the Redskins decided to jump the ship and move on from Cousins, Williams added Washington could not afford to let negotiations “come to the twelfth hour and Kirk decides not to come back or what have you and leave us with the bag.”