WP: Kirk Cousins breaks his silence after Redskins trade for Alex Smith

[Llevron]

I don't see how someone can see how much better the Vikings are than us and not understand why we could not pull the trigger on that contract and they can. We still have a team to build. 

[Peregrine]

Most people that want Cousins to succeed do so because they want the Redskins to win the super bowl.  They want long term success.  Because 11-5 year in and year out is worth going 5-11 this season instead of 7-9.  Because until certain people making the decisions wake up and see that players we let go are good, and we as a team are bad, Bruce Allen will continue to run this franchise into the swamp of mediocracy-at-best.

 

You can never ever ever build anything meaningful long term if you dont realize the importance of pain and failure in the short term to show you the way to success.

[Mr. Sinister]

I'll miss him for nothing else than the fact that I'll have no one else to share my endless LOTR references with, in spirit.

 

My heart is heavy, watching him sail away to the Undying Lands...

[SkinsFTW]

1 hour ago, Llevron said:

I don't see how someone can see how much better the Vikings are than us and not understand why we could not pull the trigger on that contract and they can. We still have a team to build. 

 

Yet the clown running the Redskins has been here since Zimmer was in his 2nd of 6 years as DC of the Bengals, before his now 4 years as the Vikings head coach.

 

Still gotta build that team before we commit to a franchise QB though, even though we just paid one more than we had to pay Cousins and gave away a starting CB and another potential starter in the process.

[Llevron]

6 minutes ago, SkinsFTW said:

 

Yet the clown running the Redskins has been here since Zimmer was in his 2nd of 6 years as DC of the Bengals, before his now 4 years as the Vikings head coach.

 

What's your point? BA is a bad GM?

 

Quote

 

Still gotta build that team before we commit to a franchise QB though, even though we just paid one more than we had to pay Cousins.

 

So let's say we give KC 3 years 86 mil guaranteed. What do we do in 2 years when we finally start to compete and we have a QB who wants to be the highest paid QB ever, again, for the second time in 3 years? Don't you see how that instability would just make a hard job harder for a guy who we both think isn't good at it? 

 

Like we build the roster in 2 years around KC and then hes a free agent again unless we make him the highest paid player ever. That's bad business for us. 

[c slag]

The Redskins go up to Minnesota for a regular season contest in 2019

Imagine the storylines going into that game 

[FrFan]

A little bit of humor before this thread is closed

 

[XtremeFan55]

The only relationship worth committing to is a marriage.  For better or worse till death do us part.  I am not married to the Redskins like some in here.  If I were, then 20 years of abuse would have left me so drained that I would have been looking for a divorce anyways. I am just so tired and fed up with feeling crappy every Fall....living thru meaningless seasons.  For the last several years, the only thing entertaining about watching the Redskins was Cousins who gave me hope that we somehow had a chance in every game.  I am following Cousins to Minnesota not because I am some homer, but because I think he is very good and since I have been following him already for 6 years I feel a connection like everyone gets when then become a fan of a team.  To be able to continue that while he is with a team that has a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl would be surreal to me after 20 years in the desert.  I understand the prevailing sentiment in here.  If the Redskins have another bad season, most will be in here whining and venting again about Allen and the FO...or maybe even against Smith if he doesn’t perform to expectations.  Everyone has their limit to when they finally know when to move on.  There is no honor IMO when some are just resigned to living thru decades of hopeless seasons.  So to those who resort to lame statements like ‘good riddance’..’don’t come back’...’don’t let the door hit you on the way’...etc...no hard feeling.  I understand.  Meanwhile I look at that ugly white bubble at Redskins Park everyday and have this urge to shoot an arrow thru it to pop that eyesore out of frustration from watching a once proud organization reduced to dysfunctional incompetence.  I wish everyone well but I also hope to experience the joy of being part of a team that wins a Super Bowl before I die. Not going to happen in Washington IMO. Ciao

[kingdaddy]

21 minutes ago, XtremeFan55 said:

The only relationship worth committing to is a marriage.  For better or worse till death do us part.  I am not married to the Redskins like some in here.  If I were, then 20 years of abuse would have left me so drained that I would have been looking for a divorce anyways. I am just so tired and fed up with feeling crappy every Fall....living thru meaningless seasons.  For the last several years, the only thing entertaining about watching the Redskins was Cousins who gave me hope that we somehow had a chance in every game.  I am following Cousins to Minnesota not because I am some homer, but because I think he is very good and since I have been following him already for 6 years I feel a connection like everyone gets when then become a fan of a team.  To be able to continue that while he is with a team that has a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl would be surreal to me after 20 years in the desert.  I understand the prevailing sentiment in here.  If the Redskins have another bad season, most will be in here whining and venting again about Allen and the FO...or maybe even against Smith if he doesn’t perform to expectations.  Everyone has their limit to when they finally know when to move on.  There is no honor IMO when some are just resigned to living thru decades of hopeless seasons.  So to those who resort to lame statements like ‘good riddance’..’don’t come back’...’don’t let the door hit you on the way’...etc...no hard feeling.  I understand.  Meanwhile I look at that ugly white bubble at Redskins Park everyday and have this urge to shoot an arrow thru it to pop that eyesore out of frustration from watching a once proud organization reduced to dysfunctional incompetence.  I wish everyone well but I also hope to experience the joy of being part of a team that wins a Super Bowl before I die. Not going to happen in Washington IMO. Ciao

Don't be so quick to concede you'll never see another SB in DC...I live in the Philly suburbs and these Eagles fans never thought they'd see one either. Just a couple years ago they were a total train wreck under Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman and now they have their first Super Bowl. Things can change quickly in the NFL with the right coaching staff and some other tweaks. I don't have faith in Gruden and Allen as a combination either but I'm anxious to see what Gruden's offense can do with Alex Smith as opposed to KC...

[Llevron]

1. 1. Darrell Green 

2. Art Monk

3. Kirk Cousins 

......

.......

.......

.......

4. Joe Gibbs

 

 

Y'all funny lol

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

8 hours ago, Llevron said:

I don't see how someone can see how much better the Vikings are than us and not understand why we could not pull the trigger on that contract and they can. We still have a team to build. 

Kind of sad that they still have a team to build, how many years into a rebuild?

 

But that aside, do you realize that Kirk Cousins contract vs. Smith is roughly the difference of one Terrell McClain?  Not without mention we have to replace a corner and have no third round pick this season to do it. 

 

Even with that, my issue isn't even so much with not paying Kirk the deal he got in Minnesota.  It's literally everything that transpired prior to this offseason, what we know and all the stuff I'm sure we don't know.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

10 minutes ago, kingdaddy said:

Don't be so quick to concede you'll never see another SB in DC...I live in the Philly suburbs and these Eagles fans never thought they'd see one either. Just a couple years ago they were a total train wreck under Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman and now they have their first Super Bowl. Things can change quickly in the NFL with the right coaching staff and some other tweaks. I don't have faith in Gruden and Allen as a combination either but I'm anxious to see what Gruden's offense can do with Alex Smith as opposed to KC...

 

While their fan base felt hopeless about ever winning a Super Bowl, it wasn't because their ceiling was right around .500 every season.  The Eagles have been a superior organization to the Redskins over the past few decades and it's not even close. 

[Llevron]

11 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Kind of sad that they still have a team to build, how many years into a rebuild?

 

But that aside, do you realize that Kirk Cousins contract vs. Smith is roughly the difference of one Terrell McClain?  Not without mention we have to replace a corner and have no third round pick this season to do it. 

 

Even with that, my issue isn't even so much with not paying Kirk the deal he got in Minnesota.  It's literally everything that transpired prior to this offseason, what we know and all the stuff I'm sure we don't know.

 

The 3 years is the problem. In 3 with Smith we still have control and stability AND the chance to retool of need be for the next guy. In 3 years Minny will be playing the tag and highest paid player ever thing again. They could be in position to do that. We won't. 

 

It is sad lol

[Playaction2Sanders]

9 hours ago, Llevron said:

I don't see how someone can see how much better the Vikings are than us and not understand why we could not pull the trigger on that contract and they can. We still have a team to build. 

 

 

Completely agree, the fault was on management for its inability to build the team around Cousins to warrant keeping him around for the kinda money he would command.. We're a middle of the road team that's plateaued, its a terrible place to be with this roster when there is really no light at the end to think we can be a great team in the immediate future.. 

[OVCChairman]

11 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Kind of sad that they still have a team to build, how many years into a rebuild?

 

But that aside, do you realize that Kirk Cousins contract vs. Smith is roughly the difference of one Terrell McClain?  Not without mention we have to replace a corner and have no third round pick this season to do it. 

 

Even with that, my issue isn't even so much with not paying Kirk the deal he got in Minnesota.  It's literally everything that transpired prior to this offseason, what we know and all the stuff I'm sure we don't know.

We've debated plenty about the 'value' of Kirk but I still don't think it's fair to compare Smith's contract to his, because I don't believe Kirk would have signed the deal Minn gave him if we had been the ones to offer it up this past offseason.  Like stated a million times before, that's our own fault, we were too late to wake up and see what the cost of an effective QB was going to be... but I don't think it's as simple as "why didnt we pay Kirk that money...."    

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

5 minutes ago, Llevron said:

 

The 3 years is the problem. In 3 with Smith we still have control and stability AND the chance to retool of need be for the next guy. In 3 years Minny will be playing the tag and highest paid player ever thing again. They could be in position to do that. We won't. 

 

It is sad lol

Now we're worried about what happens 3 years from now?  Smith's deal is basically a 3 year deal.  Unless you're talking about the potential value of his contract at ages 37 & 38.  I'd be willing to bet there is not a chance in the world that Smith is starting here in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.  Not a chance. 

 

Again, I'm not even saying the Redskins should have offered Kirk what he got in Minnesota.  But Smith's deal is not some bargain where we have all this extra money to 'build a team'.

4 minutes ago, OVCChairman said:

We've debated plenty about the 'value' of Kirk but I still don't think it's fair to compare Smith's contract to his, because I don't believe Kirk would have signed the deal Minn gave him if we had been the ones to offer it up this past offseason.  Like stated a million times before, that's our own fault, we were too late to wake up and see what the cost of an effective QB was going to be... but I don't think it's as simple as "why didnt we pay Kirk that money...."    

Like I said above, I'm not even saying the Redskins should have offered Kirk what Minny did or that he would have taken it here.  I'm merely saying that Smith's contract isn't some super duper value contract that allows the Skins to 'build a team'.  It's still a lot of money.  When you stack it up against a guy like Bradford getting 20M from the Cardinals, perhaps it looks like a deal. 

[OVCChairman]

6 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

 

 

Again, I'm not even saying the Redskins should have offered Kirk what he got in Minnesota.  But Smith's deal is not some bargain where we have all this extra money to 'build a team'.

Like I said above, I'm not even saying the Redskins should have offered Kirk what Minny did or that he would have taken it here.  I'm merely saying that Smith's contract isn't some super duper value contract that allows the Skins to 'build a team'.  It's still a lot of money.  When you stack it up against a guy like Bradford getting 20M from the Cardinals, perhaps it looks like a deal. 

That's where it gets grey... and you're right, you did mention not even offering to Kirk, the frustration is what transpired prior to this past offseason, which i agree with you completely.  With Bradford getting $20, McCown getting $10, Tannehill getting $19, Tyrod Taylor getting $15, it would appear that we FINALLY realized we needed a viable players at QB, and we needed to pay a premium for it... Problem is we had the chance to do it for less, with a player that comparing head to head would appear to have been a better option, and we didnt. 

 

Hopefully this means Bruce and Dan understand the importance of the QB position and we will see the long term options brought in over the next 2 years around this same time... while we have a viable starter in place, and the ability to invest instead of scrambling when we have no other choice... like we did this time. 

[Llevron]

19 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Now we're worried about what happens 3 years from now?  Smith's deal is basically a 3 year deal.  Unless you're talking about the potential value of his contract at ages 37 & 38.  I'd be willing to bet there is not a chance in the world that Smith is starting here in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.  Not a chance. 

 

I'm not saying he will be playing I'm saying we will gave control. We had no control in the Kirk situation and it hurt us. That's the difference.  

 

It's not basically a 3 year deal you are making that argument cause it works for your stance. But it's 5 if we want it to be 5. It's 4 is we want 4. 3 if we want 3. That counts. 

[LightningBuggs]

1 hour ago, XtremeFan55 said:

The only relationship worth committing to is a marriage.  For better or worse till death do us part.  I am not married to the Redskins like some in here.  If I were, then 20 years of abuse would have left me so drained that I would have been looking for a divorce anyways. I am just so tired and fed up with feeling crappy every Fall....living thru meaningless seasons.  For the last several years, the only thing entertaining about watching the Redskins was Cousins who gave me hope that we somehow had a chance in every game.  I am following Cousins to Minnesota not because I am some homer, but because I think he is very good and since I have been following him already for 6 years I feel a connection like everyone gets when then become a fan of a team.  To be able to continue that while he is with a team that has a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl would be surreal to me after 20 years in the desert.  I understand the prevailing sentiment in here.  If the Redskins have another bad season, most will be in here whining and venting again about Allen and the FO...or maybe even against Smith if he doesn’t perform to expectations.  Everyone has their limit to when they finally know when to move on.  There is no honor IMO when some are just resigned to living thru decades of hopeless seasons.  So to those who resort to lame statements like ‘good riddance’..’don’t come back’...’don’t let the door hit you on the way’...etc...no hard feeling.  I understand.  Meanwhile I look at that ugly white bubble at Redskins Park everyday and have this urge to shoot an arrow thru it to pop that eyesore out of frustration from watching a once proud organization reduced to dysfunctional incompetence.  I wish everyone well but I also hope to experience the joy of being part of a team that wins a Super Bowl before I die. Not going to happen in Washington IMO. Ciao

 

You'll get nothing but support from me on your decision.

 

Totally agree with your analogy of marriage.  I myself am "separating" from the Redskins.  It's not about Kirk.  And I'm not waiting for a winning franchise to come back.  I have a short list of things that will bring me back.

 

1. Snyder sells the team or moves it and DC gets a new team that keeps the Redskin name.  (Obviously not going to happen)

2. Brucey is fired AND he is replaced by a true GM AND MOST IMPORTANTLY he is allowed to do his job without interference

 

Obviously #2 is the only option here.  If I see that happen and I see that the new GM/FO exhibits competence and shows they are moving in the right direction, I'll consider returning to my Redskin "marriage".

 

In the meantime, I'm rooting for the Browns.  Solely because they have a front office in place now that seems to know what they're doing.

 

Good luck to you sir.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

2 minutes ago, Llevron said:

 

I'm not saying he will be playing I'm saying we will gave control. We had no control in the Kirk situation and it hurt us. That's the difference.  

 

It's not basically a 3 year deal you are making that argument cause it works for your stance. But it's 5 if we want it to be 5. It's 4 is we want 4. 3 if we want 3. That counts. 

It has nothing to do with my stance, even Doug Williams himself referred to it as a three year deal.

 

Sure, it can be 5 or 4 if the Skins want it to be.  That'd be great if Alex Smith was 30 or didn't have 13 years of wear and tear on his body.  If anyone is stretching to make an argument it's talking about those 4th and 5th years being valuable.  Sure it's possible but not very likely.

 

 

[goskins10]

2 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

It has nothing to do with my stance, even Doug Williams himself referred to it as a three year deal.

 

Sure, it can be 5 or 4 if the Skins want it to be.  That'd be great if Alex Smith was 30 or didn't have 13 years of wear and tear on his body.  If anyone is stretching to make an argument it's talking about those 4th and 5th years being valuable.  Sure it's possible but not very likely.

 

 

 

Actually, I have to agree that the extra 2 yrs makes a difference. The team has control over Alex for 5 yrs where MN only has control over Kirk for 3. Considering Kirk has already been tagged twice and the contract fully guaranteed, this leaves Kirk in complete control. Alex may be crap in 3 yrs - more likely than Kirk being crap after 3 due to age - but if he is not, the team still has his rights. If Kirk lights it up, they will have to renegotiate with him after 2 yrs. Now that's probably a good problem to have but it will be expensive.

 

The reason the QB contracts end up being more reasonable over time is because after the 2nd or 3rd yr, other make those contracts look smaller and the CAP gets higher, but you still have the player under contract for another couple of years. In this scenario, they will have to keep raising Kirk's salary to keep pace or risk losing him - unless that's what they want. 

 

I believe MN made a mistake with that contract and you know I am a huge Kirk fan. At this point, if his play is anything but pro-bowl level the next 3 yrs, they could have problems. And if he does play that well but they do not win a championship (injuries, other guys not performing, etc.) - what do they do? There will be some that feel he is the reason regardless of if that's true or not. Just like here. Every loss is somehow all on Kirk - some are some are not. The teams record is his record period. While that's ludicrous, it's still the mass perception. 

 

Make no mistake, the MN contract - if accurately being reported - puts a tremendous amount of pressure on both Kirk and the rest of the organization to win immediately. They are saying all they needed was a better QB - and they believe Kirk is that guy. Time will tell but man it's an awful lot of pressure. 

[Gibbsisgod2006]

Man some of you have to get a grip with Cousins leaving. Like I have said numerous times in this thread is that Cousins isn't worth the contract that he had. I am a little angry at the skins for not making a reasonable offer to Cousins after the 15 season but honestly up until that point Kirk as a starter was not very good and the team wanted to see if he could duplicate that and he did and the Skins made him an offer that Kirk choose not to counter. Therefore, at that point it should have signaled to skins fans that he just didn't want to be here and he knew by not countering the offer he would hit free agency and some team would over pay for his mediocre skills. I understand that the skins could have handled the Kirk situation better but come on Kirk never wanted to be here from the day Shanny drafted.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

5 minutes ago, goskins10 said:

 

Actually, I have to agree that the extra 2 yrs makes a difference. The team has control over Alex for 5 yrs where MN only has control over Kirk for 3.

I do agree that the 5 years makes a difference.  Like if it was Kirk, a 30 year old QB with less wear and tear than most 30 year old QBs, with a spotless injury history.  That would be great getting 5 years.  But Alex Smith is going to be 34 at kickoff week 1 and has 13 seasons of wear and tear on his body.  If Alex Smith is the starting QB for the Redskins, playing at an above average level, in the seasons 2021 and 2022, I'll eat my words.

[goskins10]

3 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I do agree that the 5 years makes a difference.  Like if it was Kirk, a 30 year old QB with less wear and tear than most 30 year old QBs, with a spotless injury history.  That would be great getting 5 years.  But Alex Smith is going to be 34 at kickoff week 1 and has 13 seasons of wear and tear on his body.  If Alex Smith is the starting QB for the Redskins, playing at an above average level, in the seasons 2021 and 2022, I'll eat my words.

That really is not the point. It's not about giving Alex or Kirk the contract - which I realize is what you want to talk about. Of course giving the 5 yr contract to Kirk would be better- if for no other reason than his age. Not sure I could have been more clear about preferring Kirk - I have even stated they likely could have had Kirk at about what they are paying Alex. I am not happy either they messed this up so bad either. 

 

But at this point it is what it is. Whether Alex is playing well or not, having control is the important thing. The team has the flexibility to either release him after 3 yrs if he is playing like crap or keep him if he is playing well. The contract MN signed Kirk to gives them no leverage at all unless he is playing poorly. So just like the repeated tags, they are almost betting against themselves. If he plays poorly, Ok they get to move on. But if he plays well they will have to pay him even more or let him hit free agency again where Kirk wins again. It is not a team friendly deal at all. 

 

And hey, kudos to him for getting to this point. They (he and his agent) have played the system brilliantly! Really flawlessly. Good for him. I hold no animosity at all. I hope he plays well unless he plays the Redskins. Then I want him to suck really badly...  :-)  

[Llevron]

10 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I do agree that the 5 years makes a difference.  Like if it was Kirk, a 30 year old QB with less wear and tear than most 30 year old QBs, with a spotless injury history.  That would be great getting 5 years.  

 

That was not an option we had past 2015. Thats what you are missing here. Our options were to give Kirk 86 mil guaranteed for only we years where he has all of the control (which I remember many of you saying we were stupid to give him previously) or find a different QB. We found a different QB. Honestly the two contracts dont have anything to do with each other past the fact that they are for the same position. 

 

Also FU (in a playful way) for agreeing that the 5 years makes a difference once someone else said it lol. I coulda wrote anything and you wouldnt have given me even that.