Kirk Cousins Trade Request/Dan Snyder Kibosh Makes Skins Losing Him for Nothing More Likely

On the first day of NFL free agency, the most interesting story in the league — if not necessarily the most important — is the dysfunction in Washington. GM Scot McCloughan is getting frozen out about as un-tactfully as possible. Jay Gruden got an extension out of nowhere.

By virtue of not giving Kirk Cousins an extension, Washington has made it clear to him that they are not comfortable committing to him for the long haul. And so, this reportedly happened:

I guess it’s possible that Snyder is bluffing here to drive up Cousins’s trade value. But, as Jason McIntyre wrote here earlier, Washington is rapidly running out of quarterback options for 2017. If Washington does not come up with the money to give Cousins a longterm deal soon, the franchise tag next year is prohibitively expensive, and they can probably expect to see him leave on the open market.

While no one would confuse Kirk Cousins with Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, it’s at best an inexact science to replace him with somebody who would be better in the next year or three. The Skins have backed themselves into a very interesting position with him, where he holds a lion’s share of the leverage.

This has been the latest development in As the Skins Turn.