TVA Weekly Digest: The 2018 NFL offseason is upon us

KIRK COUSINS MAY GET STUCK WITH YET ANOTHER FRANCHISE TAG

With the arrival of former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith last week, it’s clear the Kirk Cousins era has reached its long, anticipated end in Washington. However, reports have come out that the Redskins may franchise tag Cousins for the third straight offseaon in an attempt to gain something from his departure.

It remains to be seen if Cousins would actually accept the franchise tag again, but we know he’s excited to test the free agency waters this year.

Cousins put up some sneaky great numbers in 2017 despite a battered offensive line and virtually no help from his receiving corp. He’s been in line for a serious pay day for a couple of years now and he’s going to likely get what he deserves before training camp begins in 2018.

What it means for the Vikings:

Kirk Cousins is better than Case Keenum. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t care.

The Vikings should absolutely make a significant effort at signing Cousins should he hit the free-agent market this offseason. But if the Redskins somehow pull off their franchise tag plan and he ends up only being available via trade, Minnesota would (and should) be out of the running.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is usually very stingy with the team’s draft picks (save the Sam Bradford trade ordeal) and he’s already running low this year. With a plethora of other viable options under center out on the market, it would be silly for Spielman to play into Washington’s hands and give them a commodity for a player they were going to lose anyway.

I’ve watched enough Redskins games over the last two or three years to know that Cousins can keep his team in ball games with little to no supporting cast. I’d love to see what he could do with Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and a healthy Dalvin Cook.

Supposedly, Cousins has even already hinted that Minnesota is in the running for his services next year. He’s worth the massive contract he’s going to receive and the Vikings have the cap space to be among the teams in contention to land him.

Honestly though, it would be a shame if Washington was able to handcuff Cousins, once again, with a franchise tag this offseason. If they actually manage to do so, go ahead and count the Vikings out of the race for the quarterback.