The Redskins are sold on Cousins as their QB of the future and would like to sign him to a long-term deal, but negotiations hadn’t begun as of last week. During his Monday appearance with Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier on 106.7 The Fan, Cousins was asked if he feels wanted in D.C.

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“I think to this point we haven’t really discussed the specifics of that, but I do feel believed in here,” Cousins said. “I feel like this organization, they put their necks on the line for me at the start of the season, so that says a lot right there. Like I said, I think this is an organization that is trending up, is doing good things, has good pieces in place, has good leadership at the top. Those are all positive signs, so we’ll go from there and see where things play out, but you certainly want to be in the right place with the right people around you, and I do believe that Washington has a lot of those pieces in place.”

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While discussing what he’d like to work on during the offseason, Cousins sounded like someone who expects to remain with the Redskins.

“I think just continuing to own the game plan and, if anything, tailor the game plan around me,” Cousins said. “Tell the coaches, ‘This is what I like, this is what I don’t like, these are the plays, the drop-backs that I want in the game plan week in and week out, and these are the plays that I, frankly, don’t like.’ Sometimes it takes playing through an entire season to learn what those are and to be able to speak your mind and have an opinion. I think it will help us this offseason to be able to have those conversations, and then that’s when the offense really starts to become yours, you start to own it and you start to do some of the things that you see the guys who have played in this business for nine, 10, 11 years, what they’re doing.”

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Rouhier asked Cousins if he’d like to get a deal done with the Redskins quickly, or if he would prefer to test the waters when the league-wide free agency negotiation window begins on March 12.

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“You know, I don’t really know how it all works, but with the franchise tag being a wrinkle in the whole process, I’m not even sure what that would do for my ability to test the waters,” Cousins said. “That will come I believe before really free agency can even begin and typically deadlines tend to be when things get done, so I see it probably lasting a while, or at least not even having anything happen for a while, but I don’t know. I’m just kind of guessing. We’ll see where it takes us, but the franchise window will be the first step and then from there to free agency, and again, I guess the ball is kind of in the Redskins’ court with that, because they can place that tag on me and there’s no input or decision that I would have along those lines.”

My colleague Mike Jones explained the franchise tag option last week:

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The deadline for using the franchise tag on a player is March 7. But that will not prevent the Redskins and Cousins from continuing negotiations toward a long-term deal. It just ensures that a team doesn’t sign Cousins elsewhere while leaving Washington with no compensation. If the Redskins were to use the exclusive rights franchise tag on Cousins, committing to pay him around $20 million for the coming season, a team wouldn’t be able to negotiate with the quarterback. If the team uses the non-exclusive tag on Cousins, a team could negotiate with Cousins, but would have to give up two first-round picks if the Redskins decided not to match the offer to Cousins.

While recognizing the stability that a long-term deal would bring, Cousins said he wouldn’t be averse to the Redskins using the franchise tag on him.

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“Yeah, I think when you look at the dollars and cents of it, like you said, to be paid among the top five in your position, why wouldn’t you like that?” Cousins said. “I think guys love having a long-term plan, love kind of knowing where they’re going to be, feeling like they can settle in, and the peace of mind that comes with that I think is what guys like. But for me, I’ll be happy either way. I think it’s kind of a win-win either way, and I think it was important for me to play well this season and earn the opportunity to be in a win-win situation. While it wasn’t perfect, I think we’ve been able to do that and now it’s just a matter of figuring out what’s best for the team and best for me, and try to find a happy balance where we can operate with success for a long time going forward.”