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Despite what you’ve heard, the Redskins DID NOT mishandle Kirk’s contract over the last few years, and I’ll explain why.
Since The Burgundy Breakdown is new, I want to make my first post about the Kirk Cousins cha cha cha (credit The Team 980) and I won’t have to bring it up again. The truth is… The Redskins did NOT mishandle this situation and I’ll tell you why. Let’s break this down chronologically, because hindsight is 20/20, and we all look like idiots for not investing in Under Armour when they jumped from $1 to $32 on the first day.
Let’s start with the 2015 season…
Here’s the picture… Forget the sloppy 2014 campaign. Kirk is named starter for 2015 and has a rough 1st half of the season (granted – this is mostly because he wasn’t the starter until right before week 1). By halftime vs The Bucs, it looked like Kirk and Gruden were sure to be gone by Monday. Then, we get the 2nd half #YouLikeThat comeback. Follow that up with *mostly* good performances, and 2 or 3 GREAT performances, and winning the division. To clarify, I’m not a Kirk hater. I like him. I’m also realistic about the business of football.
Finally, we cap the season with what Chris Cooley (Former Redskin Great and Radio Talk Show Host on The Team 980) described at the time as maybe Kirk’s worst game of the year, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and uncertainty from the organization.
Now on to the 2015 offseason…
The Redskins had 2 options that offseason.
Side rant- Don’t tell me they should have paid him mid-season 2015. His play wasn’t instilling confidence in anyone and he wouldn’t have signed anyway. His agent would never let him sell low, and the Redskins weren’t buyers yet based on games played. End rant.
Option 1 – Franchise tag for $20M. Option 2 – Long term contract. Based on market value at the time, they’re likely looking at just under $20M, 3-4 years, $40M-ish guaranteed.
Before you freak out and tell me they only offered $16M, keep reading.
You don’t come to the table with your final offer. You start low and negotiate, assuming Kirk starts at $22M-ish. Here’s the x-factor nobody wants to really bring up. It was reported earlier this year that Kirk was at $19M.. reasonable.. except he wanted a 100% guaranteed contract! Knowing that the Redskins would never do a deal with that type of structure, he was essentially asking for the moon. A normal contract that would net him a guaranteed $19M per year is likely structured as 3 years, $72M, $57M guaranteed ($24M/year). Sorry, but that’s crazy town at this stage.
Say what you will about the Redskins not coming up from their original offer. Looking for a 100% guaranteed contract says you didn’t come here to negotiate. Kirk made his terms clear, so why bother? He wasn’t worth it AT THAT TIME.
Back to options. Franchise tag and guarantee 1 year for $20M, or agree to the only contract acceptable to Kirk’s camp, and guarantee 3 years at $19M per year. Let’s not forget that almost EVERYBODY (fans and “experts”) outside of the organization laughed at The Redskins for giving him $20M at the time.
Yes, you can say they should have seen the trend in the QB market and ponied up, but with only ½ a good season, and a bad taste in your mouth from the loss to GB, that just as easily could have been another “Dan Snyder Contract.”
Moving forward. The Redskins elect the 1 year rental over long term purchase. I loved this choice at the time, and still stand by it, because I’d rather end up overpaying for a sure thing the following year than shoot for a bargain and get burned.
Now comes the 2016 season…
Fast forward from the offseason contract standoff. Kirk as an EXCELLENT 2016 campaign, breaking several team records along the way. Defense is HORRIBLE. Definitely looks worth of being a “Franchise QB.”
Side rant- Again, fans cried after the fact that The Redskins should have offered him a contract mid-season for a “steal”… but are you paying attention? NO WAY he accepts anything mid-season 2016. His agent would quit. Potential free-agency on the horizon. No way. The Redskins only option is to wait until offseason. End rant.
Unfortunately, that season ends unexpectedly early after a horrible Kirk performance against the Giants (I get it, others played poorly too. But this post is about Kirk, and he threw the game-sealing INT). Another year ended with a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Now in hindsight, Chris Cooley insists we should have had an offer in hand after the game to take advantage of the timing so The Redskins can show commitment. However, I don’t think Kirk would have signed. Again, he was coached to never sell low by his agent. Nice thought, but would never have worked.
2016 Offseason – The Trade Scenario…
In 2015, Kirk made clear he wanted a fully guaranteed contract. The Redskins really liked him, but that’s just not on the table. As Kevin Sheehan (co-host with Chris Cooley on The Team 980) has said 1,000 times on air, they should have traded him if they thought he wouldn’t sign… but there’s a catch.
THERE WERE NO TRADE PARTNERS. I repeat. THERE WERE NO TRADE PARTNERS.
There’s no point to trade Kirk unless we could have gotten better than the 3rd round pick we get when he leaves, and NOBODY WAS GOING TO PAY THAT PRICE.
Here’s where the crowd chimes in… “Garoppolo was traded for a 2nd!”
I hear you… But, you’re still wrong. There was a lot of interest in Jimmy G, and if you wanted him, you had to pay. Kirk’s dynamic was NOT THE SAME. Nobody knew if Kirk would re-sign if they traded for him. He already made it clear he was willing to play year to year. Jimmy G hadn’t been paid yet. Most GMs felt like they could get Jimmy G to sign an extension if they wanted to. Not Kirk though.
There were two teams that felt confident Kirk wanted to play for them and would sign a contract. Those teams are The Rams and 49ers, thanks to Kirk’s relationships with former OCs Sean Mcvay and Kyle Shanahan. However, Rams just drafted Goff year prior, so they were out of the equation.
Yes. Kyle Shanahan wanted Kirk, and they didn’t even know Jimmy G would become available. Obvious trade partner, right? Wrong! The 49ers knew they were the only game in town. Why would they pay high price? The 49ers did not have a “win now” roster. They could have easily waited until after 2017 season and signed Kirk no problem. Kirk wanted to work with Kyle, and 49ers were OK with his contract demands. However, why throw a 2nd round pick on top of that price tag unless you’re ready to make a run?
To put a fine point on it… If you think The Redskins should have traded him, you’re right in theory, and the organization would probably agree. But there were no real options, so relax. Next move is to attempt contract negotiations.
2016 Offseason – The Market Value Offer…
This is for Kevin Sheehan… THEY MADE A MARKET VALUE OFFER. Kirk said himself that the offer made in 2017 showed the team wanted him. Back to my earlier point – you don’t come to the table with your top offer. You plan to negotiate.
I understand the offer wasn’t the full guarantee that Kirk wanted, but it made it clear they were willing to play ball. Kirk wasn’t. Simple as that. He didn’t counter. He wanted to hit free agency, and The Redskins had no options.
Side rant- Don’t tell me they didn’t offer a market value contract. 2nd highest per year contract in NFL HISTORY is a hell of an offer, especially considering they made clear they were ready to negotiate. Period. End rant.
I know The Redskins said they didn’t trade him because they felt they had a winning roster, and they wanted to make a run. While they did have a solid roster (barring crazy injuries..ugh), this is clearly The Redskins PR team spinning the situation like they always do. There would be no point in saying there were no good trade offers. Why don’t you just guarantee Kirk won’t ever re-sign? Instead, we tell fans we’re hoping for a big year to change Kirk’s mind on re-signing. Perfectly logical approach given the situation at the time.
Now on to the Finale…
Fast forward through the rest of the offseason. Kirk has another good season in spite of the injuries the team dealt with (again…ugh!). Fans see another awful finish by Kirk against the Giants.
It could not be more clear that Kirk doesn’t want to be in Washington, so the team trades for Alex Smith. Congrats Redskins. You took back control of the situation.
I absolutely hated losing Kendall Fuller, but I still like the move. Save money on the cap each year. Get a QB coming off his best season, who has consistently had low turnover rates. I’m a happy camper, and ready to look forward.
To clarify, I do like Kirk, and I would have been happy if The Redskins were able to keep him long term. However, it is important to realize that The Redskins made the only realistic decisions on the table when considering all available information, and it was NOT their fault.
It was NOT their fault that they didn’t resign Kirk, and it was NOT their fault that they didn’t trade him to get more than the 3rd round pick awarded by the league.
Sometimes, you just don’t hold the cards. No blame. Just reality.
#HTTR #TheBurgundyBreakdown
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