That said, there will be a year-long hunt for clues as to what the franchise will do next. Here’s one of those potential clues, via General Manager Scot McCloughan. Appearing Sunday on SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio with Ty Schalter and Jason Cole, McCloughan was asked about the large number of franchise players who have been unable to reach long-term deals with their teams.

“It’s a very good question, and like I said, it’s part of the business that I don’t like at all, just because you want to take care of your own no matter what,” McCloughan replied. “And there’s a reason why you do franchise them, because you respect their talent and their abilities. But the market’s the market, and some teams will do certain things that throw the market off, so then you’ve got to step back and say, ‘Okay, who do we have next year? [Are] there three to five to seven guys that we want to extend prior to the last year of their deal, or do we want to go after one and know we’re going to lose three or four next year?’

“So it’s a fine line, and like I said, it’s tough, but that’s why we do this,” McCloughan went on. “It’s the market. The NFL’s a phenomenal, phenomenal entity, and the money’s incredible. But the way I look at it is I want Kirk in a long-term deal, no doubt about it, but also I’m not gonna put our franchise in a situation where we’re gonna lose three or four younger guys that I think are gonna be good football players for one guy. I won’t do it. You know, that’s just how it is.

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“And the quarterback position’s very, very important, but you know what, so is every other position,” McCloughan said. “We need football players. We need multiple football players, not one.”

That dynamic might not change in 12 months. The price for Cousins isn’t likely to go down next season, absent an on-field disaster, which would present its own complications. So would the team be happy paying Cousins huge dollars in 2017 if he fares well this season?

“The thing about it is, the cap goes up every year, and the market’s the market,” McCloughan said. “And especially the position Kirk plays, it’s pricey, but you pay for production. You get paid to win. I told Kirk, I told his agent, I tell all of our players: It’s not about the individual. It’s the sum of the parts. We have 53 guys on this roster. We’re gonna have 46 playing on Sundays. It’s not about the one individual. Now, like I said, if you produce, as the Washington Redskins, we’ve got no problem paying you — depending on what the market is. But you’ve got to also realize it’s a team sport; it’s not an individual sport.”

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McCloughan said he feels “very positive” about Cousins’s leadership and confidence during this offseason, and that the team is “going to be fine” moving forward. He said Cousins is “a good, quality person” and “a good football player,” and that “the players respect him.” He said both sides would have liked to get a deal done, and that “hopefully he’s our quarterback for a long time going forward.” But when asked to repeat that point with some certainty, McCloughan instead highlighted the complexities.

“This is the part I don’t like about the business is the fact that it is a business,” he said. “Money’s money, you know, and you’re gonna have to pay, and certain positions get more than other positions. Again, when it’s all said and done, the thing that’s really cool about Kirk is he’s a leader, he’s a smart guy, he’s a passionate guy, he’s a competitive guy, and it’s very, very, very important to him to be successful. And when it’s all said and done, you get measured by wins and losses; you don’t get measured by financial value.