Captain Kirk went to Deep Space Nine yesterday.
No, not James Kirk. I'm talking about Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins (7-7). The former fourth-round pick, who entered this season with plenty of well-deserved detractors, had himself quite a game on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Cousins tossed four touchdowns and added an extra score on the ground without turning the ball over a single time. In fact, Cousins has posted a 16:3 TD-to-INT ratio over the team's last eight games. Not bad.
His recent run of improved play could not have come at a better time as Cousins is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Will the Skins try to lock him up based on this recent stretch or is the team worried that his recent play is just a mirage?
"Team officials are determined to avoid letting the fourth-year veteran depart via free agency this offseason," Mike Jones of the Washington Post wrote. And can you really blame them? Robert Griffin III turned out to be an epic disaster and Cousins has made major strides this season, his first as the full-time starter.
Overall, Cousins is completing 69.7 percent of his passes and has thrown for 3,625 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. At his best, Cousins is a more dynamic version of Alex Smith, someone who is accurate with the football, gets rid of it quickly and can be a playmaker in spurts. At his worst, well, just look to Cousins' four multi-pick games from the first half of this season.
Despite the mutual interest in getting a deal done, not a whole lot of progress has been made toward a new contract. ESPN's Mike Sando believes Cousins can reasonably demand a contract that averages roughly $15 million per season, with a five-year deal worth as much as $80 million being his top prediction. Others aren't as confident that the numbers will reach that high. Regardless, it's a guarantee that Cousins will see a significant raise in his current salary of $660,000.
Barring some major occurrence, Cousins will be made the Redskins quarterback of the (near) future. This can be accomplished though the aforementioned long-term deal, or Washington could hit him with the franchise tag for one season. The main issue with the latter strategy is that will cost roughly $20 million, an unpalatable numbers for even some of the better performers at the position.
Still, Skins fans shouldn't worry. One way or the other, Cousins will still be in town next year. The question is, will he prove worth whatever it takes to keep him?
