Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, who reportedly has been denied a requested trade, signed his one-season “franchise” contract on Friday for a guaranteed salary of nearly $24 million, his agent confirmed.
Agent Mike McCartney tweeted that Cousins had inked the deal for the second season in a row, a move that allows the Redskins to trade the 28-year-old signal caller, who has spent all five of his NFL seasons in Washington.
ESPN reported that Cousins pressed his desire to be traded to Redskins owner Dan Snyder and was told he should not expect a transfer, although they can now listen to offers from teams hungry for a quarterback, notably including San Francisco — where new coach Kyle Shanahan worked with Cousins as Washington’s former offensive coordinator.
The Redskins can negotiate with McCartney and Cousins on a long-term deal until July 15, just as pre-season training camops begin.
After that, Cousins would be paid $23.94 million for the 2017 campaign under franchise tag terms, which ensure players a top-five salary for their position or 120 percent of his prior season’s salary.
Cousins threw for a career-high 4,917 yards with 25 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions last season. For his career, he has thrown for 12,113 yards, 72 touchdowns and 42 interceptions.
The 49ers, meanwhile, added a quarterback by signing free agent Matt Barkley, according to the players’ tweet — “Back to the golden state.. Hey @49ers, let’s do this!”
Barkley, 26, started final six games for the Chicago Bears last season, throwing for 1,611 yards and eight touchdowns. A former reserve with Philadelphia and Arizona, Barkley joins former Chicago teammate Brian Hoyer, who shared time at quarterback with the Bears last season.
Another quarterback who appeared to be on the market, New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo, wasn’t after his agent, Don Yee, said Friday the New England reserve to Tom Brady had his Instagram account hacked.
Garoppolo’s Instagram account had an early morning farewell message from Brady’s backup, saying, “So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston.”
But Yee said the message was a fake and it has been deleted from Garoppolo’s account.
Several teams seeking a quarterback, notably the Cleveland Browns, have been interested in Garoppolo, who can become a free agent next March. While Garoppolo was being groomed as a successor to Brady, the 39-year-old superstar last month won his fifth Super Bowl crown — the only quarterback to ever do so — and has said he wants to play a few more years.
The Browns, who have 23 NFL Draft picks over the next two years and own the top choice this year after a 1-15 campaign, reportedly are willing to offer a handsome package of players and picks for Garoppolo.
The Browns, expected to select collegiate star defensive back Myles Garrett first overall, also have the 12th pick thanks to a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, one that could be used to sweeten any trade deals.
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