Washington places exclusive franchise tag on Kirk Cousins

Washington placed the exclusive franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins, with the news coming from his agent, Mike McCartney on Tuesday. As a practical matter, it means Cousins isn’t going anywhere as under league rule, the exclusive tag means other teams can’t negotiate a contract with Cousins.

Cousins seemed to have a good sense of humor about the move:

Since Cousins played on the tag last year, he will make 120 percent of his 2016 salary, or $23.94 million, for 2017. So if he plays this coming season on the tag, he’ll make nearly $44 million fully guaranteed over two years.

Our Charles Robinson outlined the issues Washington is having signing a long-term deal with Cousins, a fourth-round pick in 2012, and they’re mostly typical of the internal dysfunction the franchise has become known for.

But with his former offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, now in San Francisco as head coach, it is possible that Washington and the 49ers work out a sign-and-trade agreement, particularly if Shanahan and Niners brass are willing to pony up the draft capital it would take to get their man. San Francisco also has a lot of money to spend under the salary cap.

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