WASHINGTON — Over the course of 17 weeks, Kirk Cousins has transformed himself from an unknown quantity into a franchise quarterback. Still to determine is for which franchise.

Since losing to the Jets in Week 6, Cousins has completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 274.6 yards per game with 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions — that’s a 119 passer rating. That includes Sunday’s total, when Cousins hung 176 yards and three touchdowns on the Cowboys in one half of football.

It also helps the Redskins are 7-3 and won the NFC East in that stretch.

Cousins has remained largely quiet about his contractual future. He becomes a free agent when his rookie deal expires at the end of this season.

While he prefers his agent, Mike McCartney, to handle all negotiations, he did admit as recent as Nov. 30 he didn’t “believe” the Redskins had made him an offer. For his sake, that’s probably best, because the number only could have risen in the month since.

By as much as Cousins has exceeded expectations and proven himself as a starter, Washington can expect to pay top dollar in order to secure his services for the future, and in exchange for services already rendered: a division title.

“The way that you closed out the season, you just earned yourself a ridiculous amount of money,” 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen said on Monday. “Is there any way with the momentum being built right now that this does not end in you being in Washington? It seems like the way this thing’s trending, this could be the beginning of a nice little run here.”

“Yeah, I mean, I just don’t know,” Cousins said. “I think that it will come down to how much they want me and their belief in me, and what they see me doing going forward, and if they see the arrow trending up and if they see potential, or if they don’t.”

“That’s their call and their decision to make,” he added. “And if they don’t, then I’ll have to go find a job somewhere else. I certainly will continue to try to do my part to give them every reason to believe in me and feel that they have something there. And then whenever the season ends, hopefully later than sooner, we’ll be able to figure that out and see where we are.”

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