Here’s the most important and underrated consideration when pondering Kirk Cousins’s NFL worth: How good are the pieces around him?

It seems counterintuitive, worrying about support when you’re trained to believe players vying for long-term, franchise-quarterback money should be the ones elevating the talent around them. But if you still haven’t noticed, this is a new financial era in professional sports, with unfathomable, billion-dollar television contracts and salaries exploding as a function of robust revenue. Understand it or not, this is a period in which you can be stuck paying superstar money while expecting merely a high-functioning role player.

After a fabulous, “You like that!” 2015 campaign from Cousins, Washington is still plodding through a “You like that? Really? Okay, how much?” offseason. There’s no imminent danger of losing Cousins because the team placed a $19.95 million franchise tag on him for next season, and the quarterback quickly signed it. Now the tricky question is whether both sides can negotiate a multiyear deal before a July 15 deadline.

Just about every facet of that decision has been explored, but now that the team has advanced its preparations for the 2016 season, the focus is more on making the situation work than arguing the merits of Cousins as a longtime keeper. Whether General Manager Scot McCloughan advises Daniel Snyder to take the financial plunge now or wait until after another season of collecting data (which could prove even more costly), Cousins is going to get paid to stay here, barring a disastrous injury or regression.

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Despite needs along the defensive line and at center, the Washington Redskins took the best player available. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

It’s not a question of whether it is the right move anymore. The better question is how to make it right. A year ago, the franchise made strides in creating an ecosystem that allows a quarterback to thrive. Now it must finish that process, and it must do so under the scrutiny of being the reigning NFC East division champion.

When the season begins in September, Washington will be a more respected, analyzed team. Opponents will have a better feel for how to defend Cousins and the offense — at least based on its tendencies last season. For Coach Jay Gruden, offensive coordinator Sean McVay and the rest of the staff, the challenge is to stay ahead of those adjustments without straying from an identity that helped produce a 9-7 record.

Cousins, 27, wants to show he deserves to be one of the NFL’s 10 highest-paid quarterbacks for the remainder of his prime. While Washington is assessing that risk, it also must help the quarterback deserve it.

Look at it like buying a $1,000 suit. That’s cool, but do you have the shirt, tie, socks, shoes and belt to make it truly stand out? Are you going to wear a watch? Need cufflinks? How’s your hair? Need to make an appointment to address that, too?

In so many aspects of life, the reality is that investment begets investment. Anyone who has bought a house knows this. As nice as it would be to talk about paying $20 million-plus per year to a quarterback who can carry a team, the truth is that there are only a few quarterbacks every generation who can survive handling such a load. And at some point, people start griping about how even those players need help.

This is why McCloughan preaches building around the quarterback. That always has been his approach. Whether Cousins, Robert Griffin III or Colt McCoy had emerged as the starter last year, McCloughan was intent on creating an ecosystem. The goal was to find a competent signal caller who plays a simple game and improves with the assistance of a strong defense, consistent running game and variety of weapons in the passing game.

It was impressive that Cousins played so well despite a running game that fell apart and a defense that ranked among the five worst in the NFL. Those parts remain under heavy construction this offseason, but the hope is for improvement. For the offense, it’s essential that at least the threat of being able to run the ball exists. Much concern remains because the team lacks an established, productive veteran running back. In the passing game, however, McCloughan has done everything a quarterback could wish for to stock the roster.

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How does Washington plan on keeping Cousins ahead of defensive adjustment? McCloughan’s decision to draft wide receiver Josh Doctson in the first round was the most stunning investment. Signing veteran tight end Vernon Davis to complement Jordan Reed was an undervalued acquisition. Washington will have great depth at tight end and wide receiver, including DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder. Previously, they used great resources on the offensive line, and all of those players are back. The offense is far from complete, but there is the potential to have a physical line that protects Cousins up front and gives top tailback Matt Jones a chance to improve. And this receiving corps should allow Cousins to rely on more than short, quick passes.

To keep progressing, Cousins has to be more effective attacking defenses with deep passes and throws to the outside, and he can’t just target Jackson in those situations. Cousins completed just 15 of 51 passes (29.4 percent) thrown more than 20 yards in the air with four touchdowns and three interceptions last season, which isn’t as bad as it sounds when compared with the entire league. But look at his room to grow when you put him against one of the league’s most effective deep throwers, Russell Wilson. Wilson’s statistics in those some situations: 24 for 53 (45.2 percent) with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Overall, 373 of Cousins’s 543 passes last season (68.7 percent) were thrown behind the line of scrimmage or less than 10 yards in the air. If Jackson is healthy all season and Doctson can be a high-pointing athlete as a rookie, the passing game will diversify. Utilizing two-tight end sets with Davis doing the dirty work and Reed functioning more as a wideout could help, too. Slight adjustments to the roles of possession-receiving gems Garcon and Crowder can diversify the attack as well. And that’s before factoring in the role of the running backs and possible emergence of a steadier No. 5 receiver.

There is potential to be dynamic. But even Cousins would like to press pause after the word “potential.”

“Potential doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Cousins said. “We want results. I know it’s been well documented how much talent there is. I’ll be the first one to say we have a lot of talent at the receiver position, the tight end position, the running back position.

“It’s my job — and the quarterback’s job — to just get them the football and let them do the work, you know. Get the ball out of my hand and let them go make plays.”

Those are the words of a man who understands his role. He’s like Jerry Maguire pleading, “Help me help you.” Even though Cousins is excited that being the starter this offseason “gives him permission now to take ownership” of the team, he knows the key to winning — and riches — is simply to approach the game as a high-functioning role player.

His team gets that concept, too, which only improves the chances of Cousins becoming the right long-term solution.

For more by Jerry Brewer, visit washingtonpost.com/brewer.