The 49ers see intent on targeting Cousins whether he hits the free agent market or signs with the Redskins. Kyle Shanahan likely wants to start over with a terrible 49ers team and Cousins would be a huge help as one of the better and more established quarterbacks in the league. But that can only happen if the Redskins are even willing to get rid of him.
Potential Replacement Options.
In a prior article, we looked at some of the replacement options for Cousins if he did leave the team. The best of these was Tyrod Taylor, who would offer a much different skill set to the Redskins than Cousins would.
At the bottom of the list was Jay Cutler, who would come with a relatively cheaper price tag than Kirk but with a lot less skills. In any case, all of the replacements for Cousins would have less talent than him unless Washington managed to find a gem of a quarterback in the 2017 NFL draft.
Trade Value.
Even if the Redskins don't have a better replacement option on the table, they should at least consider listening to the trade offers from the 49ers. Two first round picks paired with a few extra draft picks in other rounds would help the Redskins add significant talent to their roster even if Cousins did depart. In a deal with Washington, the 49ers might even be willing to give up more than that to secure Cousins as their quarterback of the future.
Even if the 49ers did manage to trade for Cousins, it's not likely that they would finish in the top half of NFL teams next season. That makes any first round pick traded by the team even more valuable. It might seem like a crazy idea to trade Kirk, but if the offer from San Francisco is good enough, the Redskins would be crazy not to.
Redskins Future.
Fans who think Kirk Cousins is the future of the team may want to take a look back at his not-so-clutch performance against the Giants in a must-win game at the end of the season. The Giants had nothing left to play for and Washington managed to score just 10 points in a loss that knocked them out of the playoffs. Before dismissing the idea of a trade as insane, the Redskins should at least field offers and then decide what they want to do with the talented quarterback.
