Kirk Cousins feels the pressure to succeed now that he has replaced Robert Griffin III as the starting quarterback for the Redskins. Cousins also playfully acknowledges his viral social media video. (1:30)

RICHMOND, Va. -- While he auditions for the Washington Redskins yet again, Kirk Cousins will be paid almost $1.25 million per game. That's a lot of money to figure out whether you're interested in having a long-term relationship with your quarterback.

Only the second signal-caller to play a full season under the franchise tag since it was instituted in 1993 (Drew Brees was the first), Cousins received a 2,923 percent raise, from $660,000 last season to $19.95 million on a one-year deal, according to ESPN Stats & Information. However, even after Cousins, whom the team drafted and developed, had arguably the greatest year statistically for a passer in Redskins history, management still has doubts about him.

For Cousins to get the multiyear contract he believes he deserves, he must convince the Redskins he's not a one-hit wonder.

"Great, he had one year," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said at the beginning of training camp. "There have been a lot of quarterbacks in the history of the league that have had good, solid, one-year seasons."

Under the collective bargaining agreement, the Redskins weren't obligated to give Cousins what he wanted -- but they're in dangerous territory now. If you have a top-tier quarterback in a quarterback league, you don't risk angering him. How the situation is resolved could determine the direction of the franchise for a decade.

With Cousins leading the offense, things have been good recently. He was the biggest reason the Redskins won the NFC East last season despite ranking 28th in the league in defense and 30th in yards per rush at only 3.7. Cousins, 27, led the NFL with a 69.8 completion percentage, becoming the first Redskins quarterback to lead the league in that stat since Sonny Jurgensen did it in 1970. Cousins ranked sixth in total QBR and eighth in yards per attempt, and he set Redskins single-season marks for passing yards (4,166) and completions (379).

Mike Shanahan wasn't surprised. When the two-time Super Bowl winner coached the Redskins, he drafted Cousins. Shanahan said years ago that Cousins would be a top-10 passer. "A lot of people thought I was crazy, but I know what I saw," Shanahan told ESPN.com recently.

Washington's Kirk Cousins becomes just the second quarterback since 1993 to play under the franchise tag. AP Photo/Mark Tenally

"When you've been around the great ones, there are certain things that jump out at you, and I could see it very quickly with Kirk. The awareness, the ability to make quick decisions, the arm strength -- making all the throws with very little leverage -- the quick release ... we saw it all in practice from Day 1.

"But it's also the intangibles. He's very competitive. He has the courage. He'll hang in the pocket, focus on the defense, and still be able to slide and feel and go through his reads. Then there's innate intelligence you have to have; Kirk is extremely bright. And one of the biggest things, and I've seen this in all the great quarterbacks I've been around, is that the buck stops with Kirk. He takes accountability. He'll put the blame all on himself. He's already a top-10 quarterback and he'll be in the top five. He's going to be a perennial Pro Bowler."

Well, Shanahan is all in on Cousins. Of course, the Redskins aren't interested in Shanahan's opinion. Among the team's current decision-makers, no one stood on the table for Cousins in the offseason, and that's why the sides never got close on a long-term deal. Talk to people in the organization, and several will tell you that Cousins "only had nine good games." At the NFL scouting combine in February, Redskins officials were playing down Cousins' accomplishments to their counterparts on other teams.

Bottom line: The Redskins don't totally believe in Cousins. They also couldn't permit him to become an unrestricted free agent. Now, Cousins has to do it again. And again and again, Gruden said.

"It's about having two, three, four years," he said. "Luckily for us, we're in a position to look at him another year."

Although Cousins is way too smart to negotiate in public or say anything that would potentially anger owner Daniel Snyder -- "I'm not lying awake at night. I got a pretty good raise," Cousins said -- he often has said he wants to be where he's wanted. The only reason Cousins is with the Redskins is because Shanahan and his son, Kyle, who spent four seasons as the team's offensive playcaller, pushed to draft him in the fourth round in 2012 after Snyder and team president Bruce Allen traded four high-round picks for the right to take quarterback Robert Griffin III second overall.

"He's already a top-10 quarterback and he'll be in the top five. He's going to be a perennial Pro Bowler." Mike Shanahan on Kirk Cousins' potential as the Redskins' QB

Snyder doted on Griffin, who had a spectacular rookie season. But Griffin subsequently suffered a major knee injury, struggled in the pocket and became a divisive force within the organization. He is now trying to rebuild his career in Cleveland. Entering his fifth season, Cousins for the first time began training camp atop the depth chart and with a unified locker room following his lead. He even had a solid preseason game Thursday night; as ESPN Redskins reporter John Keim wrote, Cousins showed "poise, good decision-making and going through his progressions at a solid pace."

"He doesn't have to worry about nobody on his heels," star wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. "We're all behind him."

The question is, for how long?

If Cousins has another big year and the sides remain far apart in contract talks, the Redskins could use their franchise tag on him again. Cousins would receive a 20 percent raise over his current salary, taking him to $23.94 million in 2017. Cousins would get a 44 percent increase if the Redskins applied the tag a third time, putting his salary at more than $34.47 million in 2018.

The more likely scenario is that if Cousins is tagged again and the sides fail to agree on an extension before 2018, Cousins would be traded. But there's a reason teams don't trade talented passers: There aren't enough of them.

"It did surprise me that they didn't tie him up, and I expect him to play even better" this season, Shanahan said. "Look at Drew Brees. You think San Diego would have let him get away if they had to do it all over again? When you get guys like Kirk, you don't let them get away."

In the NFL, there's nothing more important than getting it right at quarterback. Cousins isn't the quarterback Snyder wanted -- but he's the one the Redskins can't afford to lose.