Written by Jay Skurski at BuffaloNews.com
Franchise quarterbacks do not reach unrestricted free agency.
That’s as much of a rule in the NFL as needing 10 yards for a first down.
This season, it appeared there would be some names that teams could talk their way into believing in, but that changed last week.
Philadelphia re-signed Sam Bradford, while the Washington Redskins used the franchise tag on Kirk Cousins, pretty much guaranteeing he’ll be back with them in 2016.
Bradford’s two-year contract can pay him up to $36 million, while Cousins gets a one-year contract that guarantees him $19.95 million, unless he can work out a long-term contract extension before the July deadline.
If there is anything to be learned from those two contracts, it’s that even average quarterbacks get big-time money in free agency.
Cousins completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The 27-year-old has played in 30 career games, but it wasn’t until the last 10 of those that he looked like a franchise quarterback. In those games, he threw 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions, after throwing 24 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in his first 20 career games.
The Redskins don’t have a better option on the roster, so that’s why they tagged him.
Bradford, meanwhile, had a disappointing season with the Eagles after being traded from the Rams. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,725 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 14 starts – never quite fitting in with Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense.
Kelly is gone, however, leaving new Eagles coach Doug Pederson as part of the brain trust in Philadelphia that decided Bradford was worth another look as the team’s franchise quarterback.
The only other quarterback who could make a case to be paid like a starter is Denver’s Brock Osweiler. The Broncos have a tough decision to make with Osweiler, who went 5-2 in place of the injured Peyton Manning in 2015, helping the eventual Super Bowl champions earn the top seed in the AFC. Osweiler, however, returned to the bench in the postseason, even though it was clear Manning was shot.
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