Kirk Cousins 49ers Trade Rumors: Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers Deal?

Kirk Cousins-49ers trade rumors have started to take over social media. A Washington Redskins trade with the San Francisco 49ers could net a high selection in the 2017 NFL Draft if a deal for the veteran quarterback is completed. A problem for the Redskins in these trade rumors is that the 49ers would hold all the leverage when it comes to negotiating a deal. Without signing Cousins to a long-term contract, he might not have as much value in any trade scenario.

In regard to Kirk Cousins’ contract situation, a report by USA Today stated that the Washington Redskins once again placed a franchise tag on the quarterback. What this means is that Cousins’ salary will be roughly $24 million for the 2017 NFL season. It also opens a window of time where the two sides can negotiate a long-term deal before the season begins. Cousins and the Redskins have until July 15 to put something else in place. This time they used an exclusive franchise tag, though, so no other team can open negotiations with him.

For the Redskins, this was a way to keep Cousins from testing free agency, but it’s only a short-term fix for a problem that the front office has seen coming for a while now. This is the second time that the Redskins have used the franchise tag on Cousins, with the team opting for the non-exclusive option last year. Under that rule, Cousins could negotiate with other NFL teams, but any team completing a deal with Cousins would have to forfeit two first-round draft picks to the Redskins.

As for the Kirk Cousins to San Francisco 49ers rumors, this isn’t something that will come as a surprise to any Washington Redskins fans, as that is another team that has been working hard to acquire a new quarterback during the NFL offseason. A report by NFL writer Tom Pelissero also states that veteran receiver Pierre Garcon is in negotiations to sign with the 49ers. A Kirk Cousins-49ers trade would make a lot of sense in combination with a Garcon contract signing, as the two players are quite familiar with one another.

When it comes to the 49ers’ salary cap space, the team already saved a bit of money by having former quarterback Colin Kaepernick opt out of his contract. The NFLPA public salary cap report states that the San Francisco 49ers have about $90,635,889 in cap space to use during the NFL offseason. This does not include the Jeremy Kerley contract extension, but it still leaves quite a bit of money for the team to court players like Cousins. It also makes it easy for the 49ers to put a Pierre Garcon contract in place without seriously denting the bottom line.

So, what would the Washington Redskins gain in a possible Kirk Cousins-49ers trade? San Francisco currently has 11 picks in the 2017 NFL draft order, giving the team a number of assets to work with on any deal. This includes a fourth-round compensatory selection, a fifth-round pick from the Redskins, a sixth-round pick from the Denver Broncos, and a seventh-round pick from the Cleveland Browns. The draft selection that might hold the most interest for Redskins fans is the No. 2 overall pick in the entire draft that the 49ers have in their control.

With new general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers are looking to make huge improvements for the upcoming NFL season. There have been quite a few 49ers trade rumors since the end of the 2016 NFL season, as the franchise is very unhappy with its 2-14 finish. There were a lot of weak spots on the roster, but the biggest problem was having no consistency at the quarterback position. This is what has led to all the Kirk Cousins-49ers trade rumors, with most of them making sense when it comes to short-term improvement.

So, would the 49ers really give up the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft in order to acquire Cousins? That seems pretty unlikely, as he is only signed for one more season under his current deal. While dealing for Cousins, completing the Pierre Garcon contract, and adding several other pieces through free agency might make the team a playoff contender in the NFC again, it might not address long-term concerns of the franchise. Cousins could still leave in free agency following the 2017 NFL season, and they would then be losing an elite college prospect in the process.

Though the quarterback class in the upcoming NFL Draft is advertised as being pretty weak, that is not the case for the 2018 NFL draft class. USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen are both going to become hot commodities, and it is easy to see why a California football team would want to court their services. That alone might be a reason that the San Francisco 49ers won’t agree to a deal with the Washington Redskins unless it is extremely favorable. When it comes to the Kirk Cousins-49ers trade rumors, Lynch and Shanahan can wait patiently for the right deal.

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