I remember the early 90’s when people were predicting that the AIDS virus would wipe out the human race.
I also remember the Y2K bug — a computer issue that was going to bring an end to civilization as we then knew it.
I live every day with the threat that a giant meteor will crash through Earth’s atmosphere and send mankind the way of the dinosaurs.
Now there seems to be a new threat. As I read the news, the blogs, and comments from fans, I sense increasing hysteria among a number of people who equate a failure to sign Cousins to a long-term deal by 4 p.m. EDT today with the destruction of the Redskins franchise.
So I ask myself:
What will happen if Cousins doesn’t sign a long-term deal today?
- Kirk will still be the starting quarterback of the Redskins for 2017. Tomorrow will be much like today, in terms of the Redskins quarterback position. The only thing that will change will be the contract negotiating situation.
- Kirk will be at Training Camp, preparing for the upcoming season, like the professional athlete that he is.
- Kirk will be in his 7th season as a Redskin, but will automatically become a free agent at the end of the season. He is — in effect — a 7-year veteran, and 3-year starter who is playing out his contract and ‘betting on himself’. Kirk has done it before; other players have done it before; undoubtedly, more players will do it in the future.
- The Redskins will have the opportunity — after the 2018 season ends -- to get Kirk under contract again, if they want to. The preferred choice of most people (I suspect) would be to do that via a long-term contract that Kirk signs willingly. However, the alternative exists to ‘tag’ Kirk a third time, using either the Exclusive Franchise Tag -- making Kirk a Redskin again in 2018 — or the Transition Tag, giving Kirk the opportunity to negotiate a deal with another team, but also giving the Redskins the right to match any offer he receives. They can keep him here for at least another year if they really want to.
- If things go well for the Redskins this season, Kirk will be a 30-year old quarterback, likely making the biggest contract commitment of his life next off-season, while the Redskins will be holding a relatively low pick in the draft.
- If things go badly for the Redskins this season, Kirk could be a 30-year old quarterback who just made the biggest contract-related blunder of his life, while the Redskins will be fairly well-placed in a draft that most pundits say is loaded with quarterback talent.
- Kirk will be motivated to have a great season in 2017.
What won’t happen if Cousins doesn’t sign a long-term deal today?
- Cousins won’t be gone. He’ll still be under contract to the Redskins for this season.
- Cousins won’t automatically be gone in 2018. The Redskins still have the opportunity to sign him to a long term deal next off-season, or use the franchise tag option again.
- The Redskins franchise will not cease to exist.
- The world will not come to an end (unless there’s news about a really big meteor that I haven’t heard yet).
Poll
How will the world, as we know it, end?
This poll is closed
-
8%
A giant meteor
-
3%
We’ll run out of fossil fuel and die
-
11%
Global warming will melt the ice caps, and we’ll all drown
-
15%
A mutated killer virus
-
10%
The sun will explode
-
16%
A man-made nuclear holocost
-
16%
Judgement day, as foreseen by St. John the Devine
-
17%
Zombies