Kirk Cousins denies demanding trade from Redskins

To hear Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins tell it, he's never tried to force his way out of Washington despite reports to the contrary.

Appearing on Adam Schefter's ESPN podcast, Cousins claimed he's only sought to determine the long game from the club that's placed the franchise tag on him in successive offseasons but has yet to lock him into a lengthy deal.

"I did inquire if there was any interest in trading me to get an understanding of their perspective," Cousins said of conversations with owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen. "The answer I got back was Mr. Snyder communicated his belief in me and desire for me to remain a Redskin."

Cousins, who was paid nearly $20 million in 2016, is due $24 million under the tag this year. There's been widespread speculation that he wants to play for former Redskins assistant and new San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The Sporting News reported last week that Cousins expects to be a Niner — eventually — while ESPN claimed he asked Snyder to deal him.

Not true, according to Cousins.

Without a multi-year deal, the Redskins would be facing a price tag of more than $34 million to tag Cousins again next year. Otherwise, he could theoretically sign with the 49ers (or anyone else), while Washington would reap no more than a compensatory pick in the 2019 draft.

However Cousins also indicated he felt Snyder and Allen wanted to get a new contract done. (Other reports have claimed Cousins doesn't want to play for Allen because he's upset by the recent firing of general manager Scot McCloughan.)

"In this league, things change so fast and players can get blindsided all the time with decisions," Cousins said. "They'll cut you on your birthday. They'll cut you on the day your child is born. They'll cut you on Christmas Eve. You never know what will happen.

"I'll always keep an open mind so I won't get blindsided, but from what I heard in conversations, I felt very much supported and felt the owner and president of the team want me to be the quarterback there and to be the quarterback there for a long time."

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