Kirk Cousins Fantasy News and Statistics

When the Washington Redskins drafted Kirk Cousins in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft, they never envisioned him becoming a successful starting quarterback. The team had just traded three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Rams for the opportunity to draft Robert Griffin III. Cousins was drafted to be the backup quarterback, an afterthought who ideally would never see the field. Over the next five seasons, though, Cousins would go on to prove he is much more than a backup.

At Michigan State, Cousins started for three seasons, leading the team to a 28-12 record, a Big Ten Championship and an appearance in the first-ever Big Ten Championship game. He threw for more than 9,000 yards with 66 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. After a solid but unspectacular college career, nobody expected much out of Cousins at the NFL level.

During his first season with the Redskins, things went according to plan. Griffin led the team to the playoffs as a rookie and Cousins played only sparingly. When Griffin went on injured reserve in December of their second season, Cousins took over the starting job. The team would go 0-3 in his starts, and it wasn’t pretty. He finished the season with 854 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions across five appearances.

The 2014 season was another train wreck for the offense in Washington. The team played three quarterbacks and had little success with any of them. Griffin, Colt McCoy and Cousins combined to win four games, and at times, each looked like the best and the worst quarterback on the team. Cousins was benched at halftime of the Week 7 game against the Titans and wouldn’t see the field again in 2014. He finished the season with 1,710 yards and 10 touchdowns against nine interceptions.

Improbably, Cousins beat out McCoy and Griffin for the starting job in training camp of the 2015 season. He was able to drastically improve his statistics, throwing for over 4,000 yards with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His performance on the field was still shaky, though, as he had several interceptions dropped by defenders. However, the team scrapped together nine wins to win the weak NFC East. Against the Packers in the playoffs, Cousins was sacked six times and lost a fumble in the 35-18 loss.

Rather than let Cousins leave in free agency or sign him to a long-term deal, the Redskins elected to sign Cousins to the franchise tag. The quarterback bet on himself by playing under the tag, and his bet paid off. He made the Pro Bowl after he threw for nearly 5,000 yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. While the team missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, the offense really clicked, averaging 24.8 points per game.

Curiously, the Redskins decided not to sign Cousins to a long-term deal again in 2017. Playing a second season under the franchise tag, Cousins will be the third-highest player in the league. If he is able to continue his high level of performance, the Redskins will be in an unenviable position in 2018. They will either have to sign Cousins to a long-term deal in which he holds the leverage, allow him to leave the team or franchise him again, which would pay out $34 million—$8 million more than any player in NFL history.