Is Kirk Cousins trying to protect value by denying trade request?

The Redskins haven't had the best NFL offseason. They are currently searching for a new general manager who can take over after Scot McCloughan was linked to alcohol usage. One potential candidate includes TV personality Mike Mayock. Amidst the issues with the general manager was another issue with quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was tagged by the team in the offseason.

Kirk Cousins.

Early reports suggested that Cousins was looking for a long term deal with Washington that paid him approximately $24 million per year. Instead, Kirk was tagged by the organization for the 2017 season and didn't get the long term deal he was looking for. The Redskins quarterback was linked to the San Francisco 49ers, and some media outlets suggested that he had requested a trade to the organization. Given the ties of Cousins to new head coach Kyle Shanahan, the news wasn't particularly surprising. But new information has called those reports into question.

Cousins Speaks in Interview.

In an interview with ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cousins said that he never requested a trade from the Redskins at any point. In addition, Kirk described negotiations with Dan Snyder as positive and was generally happy with how things went. The interview certainly makes older news reports about trade requests look like the "fake news" that Donald Trump has so vigorously campaigned against. But is there a piece of truth in them?

Is Cousins Covering Himself?

Kirk Cousins definitely doesn't want to make the Redskins organization look bad if he wants to get to the playoffs. A dysfunctional organization would dissuade quality free agents from coming to Washington, and fighting within the organization would certainly contribute to that.

In addition, Cousins would probably like to maintain excellent relations with a team that drafted him to be a backup and eventually gave him a starting chance.

But he could just be a smart businessman. Now that he's signed the franchise tender, there's no reason to burn relations with the team that currently employs him. Kirk Cousins now knows his market value, and can leverage that in future negotiations a year from now. He might have said that everything with the Redskins front office went well, but Cousins could easily just be avoiding controversy by reversing his earlier stance.