Cousins, 27, rallied the Redskins to an NFC East title last season, but his relatively small sample of work would have any franchise wary of inking the Michigan State product to a long-term deal.
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In his first 20 career games, including 15 starts, Cousins struggled with 24 touchdowns and 27 interception, but improved by leaps and bounds in his last 11 starts (including a playoff loss to Green Bay) with 24 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He also rushed for six touchdowns during the 2015 season and postseason.
Washington, which is expected to release Robert Griffin III, surely doesn’t want Cousins to hit free agency with teams like the Browns, Texans or even division-rival Eagles in need of a young QB who has shown the type of promise Cousins did over the second half of 2015.
The Redskins have the option of placing the franchise tag on Cousins to assure he stays in Washington for one more season at a price tag of upwards of $20 million.
