We’ve written about Kirk Cousins here the entire month of February — why he makes more sense for 2018 and why the 49ers should also try and trade for him right now.
NFL Network’s Mike Silver is plugged in and he’s speculating there’s a better than 50-50 chance Cousins ends up on the 49ers this offseason.
“The 49ers hired Kyle Shanahan and gave him a six-year contract,” Silver said. “So logic would follow that they want him to get his kind of quarterback and someone who can run his system,” Silver said. “But with John Lynch coming in as a first-time general manager and Adam Peters — a very, very highly regarded talent elevator, now the director of player personnel in from Denver — I think you may see the front office do one of those cost effective, comprehensive approaches in free agency, rather than taking the big swing.
“However, when it comes to the quarterback position, I believe that Kirk Cousins wants to be in San Francisco. I believe that Kyle Shanahan, who has been very, very high on Kirk Cousins since he was the offensive coordinator in Washington when they drafted Cousins, I believe that marriage wants to happen on both ends. It’s an expensive marriage, and we’ll see in terms of trade compensation, what it would take to get him. Maybe it’s something that happens in a year.
“But if I had to make a guess one way or the other at this early stage, it’s more likely than not that Kirk Cousins ends up being the 49ers quarterback.”
I’m in favor of the 49ers trying to solve this quarterback puzzle now. Shanahan loves Cousins and he’s on the record as saying there are about seven quarterbacks who have elite arm talent in the world. It’s worth wondering whether he likes anybody else.
If the 49ers try and wait until 2018 for Cousins, there are too many variables in play that could keep him away from San Francisco. The Redskins could easily cave to his contract demands in training camp, or the talented Cousins could win a playoff game next season, keeping the momentum with Washington and staying put.
Dan Snyder rewarded Jay Gruden with a contract extension this weekend to make it seem like the Redskins are a stable organization. But we all see this team — now without a GM running the ship — trending downward. Cousins probably sees it, too. And he told Gary and Larry at the Super Bowl how much he loves Shanahan. The Redskins know they could lose Cousins on the open market next season.
“Oh, I’ve always been a big fan of Kyle’s,” Cousins said. “I’ve always spoken very highly of him from the day I was picked. And he called me right after the draft and just preached belief in me and encouragement and has coached me hard in all my years playing for him. I loved his system right away and saw it successfully run with Robert Griffin, I’ve now seen it successfully run with Matt Ryan. And I just believe Kyle adapts his scheme to the players he has. He’s just an offensive genius. He understands Xs and Os very well. He watches film, he just doesn’t read press clippings or make decisions based on hype. He watches the tape and his decisions over time have proven to be right. I’m a big fan of his. I always will be. Even though he’s been on other teams I’ve always rooted for him and wanted to see him succeed.”
I proposed this equally fair trade last week. Both teams should be working on a deal like this.
49ers get: Kirk Cousins, 17th overall pick
WSH gets: No. 2 overall pick, No. 34 overall, 2018 3rd rounder
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) February 28, 2017