Redskins Kirk Cousins: A Keeper for the Future?

Kirk Cousins has had some good games, and some not-so-good games as the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins. He's certainly shown some promise and maturity as both a player and leader this season. He's also had some lapses, and a few unfortunate breaks so far during this young season that contributed to a team loss.

As the quarterback, you receive praise when the team wins, and often take the blame when they lose. It's part of life in the NFL.

So considering Cousins performance up to this point in the season, what other NFL starting quarterbacks has he outplayed? At this point in the season, who would you take Cousins over?

Here is my list of quarterbacks who I'd currently take Kirk Cousins over:

- Any quarterback on the Texans: The Texans may have the worst QB situation in the league. There is no future at the position in Houston.

- Any quarterback on the Browns: McCown is best as a backup at 36 years old, and Manziel should be in the Arena league.

- Any quarterback on the Jets: The Jets QB situation is not good. There is no future at the position in NY.

- Any non-injured QB on the Bills: I'm not a Tyrod Taylor fan, but he was playing well before injury. Manuel just stinks.

- Any non-injured QB on the Cowboys: Weeden and Cassell are hot garbage.

- Colin Kaepernick: 6 TD's vs 5 INT's - how's that multi-million dollar contract looking now San Fran?

- Sam Bradford: The former number one overall pick is all but washed up; just like Chip Kelly's offense.

- Nick Foles: Foles is young, durable and has a big arm. He's just not playing very well.

- Teddy Bridgewater: Everyone was on the Teddy Bridgewater train coming into the season. His 5 TD's vs 4 INT's and just 1339 passing yards should have you jumping off at the next stop.

- Jay Cutler: Injuries have plagued him a bit this season, but when he's playing, he's surly not play WELL.

- Peyton Manning: 7 TD's vs 10 INT's and a noodle arm? Time to hang em' up Peyton!

- Alex Smith: On paper, his numbers don't look too bad, but he's the classic game manager, and no one in the league seems to do less with more.

- Ryan Tannehill: Tannehill's big performance in week 7 against the Texans skewed his numbers(4 passing TD's vs 0 INT's). Overall this season, he's been very ordinary, and a lot of his yards have come in garbage time when his team has been down. Not what you'd expect from a QB with a huge contract and a lot of offensive weapons.

- Joe Flacco: Flacco is having a head-scratcher of a season. At 30, he's absolutely still in his prime as a quarterback, but he's not playing like a seasoned vet. He's got 9 TD's vs 8 INT's and has completed 62% of his passes.

Although I would take any quarterback on this next list over Cousins, these are a few of the top signal callers in the game that Cousins is outplaying so far this season:

- Andrew Luck: 56% completion percentage, 11 TD's vs 9 INT's.

- Cam Newton: 9 TD's vs 7 INT's and a 55% completion percentage with 1275 yards passing.

- Russell Wilson: Wilson has been sacked an alarming 31 times already! He has just 8 TD's on the year(zero on the ground) and is averaging just 238 yards per game.

- Matt Stafford: The Lions are awful this year. Stafford has been sacked 16 times, thrown 9 INT's, and has been benched. He has thrown for over 1800 yards, but a lot of that has come in garbage time.

Most at of the guys listed above are making 10x's the amount of money Kirk Cousins is making, and at just 27, Cousins is  entering his prime for an NFL quarterback. He's proven so far in this young season he can go through his reads effectively, get rid of the ball quickly, and be fairly accurate with the ball, evident in his 68.7 % completion percentage. He is currently on pace to throw for nearly 4000 yards, and 22 touchdowns, and he has added two more rushing touchdowns, so we can project around 26 total for the season. If he can lead his team to even a .500 record in his first season as a starter, we just may have something to build upon for the future. Now, imagine what he could become with a healthy compliment of weapons at wide receiver and tight end.

All of the top quarterbacks in the game have a dynamic weapon to throw the ball to. Brady has Gronk. Ryan has Jones. Rivers has Gates and Allen. Big Ben has Brown. Palmer has Fitzgerald. Brees has Cooks. Peyton Manning has Thomas and Sanders. Romo has Bryant. Eli Manning has Beckham. Stafford has Johnson. Dalton has Green. Wilson has Graham. Rodgers has Cobb(and when healthy, Nelson). Cutler has Jeffery. Carr has Cooper. Luck has Hilton. Newton has Olsen(and Benjamin when healthy). Tannehill has Landry. Imagine if Cousins had a young, dynamic weapon on the outside who was at least 6'2" and had the ability to stretch defenses. Imagine if Kirk just had a healthy Jackson for this season!

If Cousins can improve on his interceptions, and continue to produce through the air as the season progresses in his first full season as the team's unquestioned starter, should the Redskins consider a contract extension this offseason?