Kirk Cousins to Redskins GM after win over Packers: ‘How you like me now?!’
The Redskins can’t afford to lose Kirk Cousins, so don’t be surprised if he gets the franchise tag for the second consecutive year. However, expect Cousins’ representatives and Washington executives to work out a long-term deal that makes him one of the NFL’s 10 highest paid players.
Kirk Cousins probably has many goals in life, and two of them appear to be getting a big contract from the Washington Redskins and providing us with as many post-victory sound bites as social media can handle.
The guy who brought us “You like that?!” last year and “Oooohwee!” last week seemed to be working toward both goals following the Redskins’ 42-24 win over the Green Packers on Sunday night:
While “How you like me now?!” isn’t a Cousins original, those words will likely become associated with the Washington quarterback because of how he said it, who he said it to and when he said it.
Cousins wasn’t smiling when he shouted the phrase — twice — into the ear of Redskins General Manager Scot McCloughan before adding a hand slap and a rough tossling of the hair for even more effect. The game had just ended, and Cousins had just completed 21 of 30 passes for 375 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 145.8.
All of which was done in rainy, windy conditions and helped the Redskins improve to 6-3-1 and remain in the thick of the NFC playoff race.
McCloughan responded to his quarterback: “Hey, I appreciate you. That’s good stuff, man.”
That was the right answer. Although Cousins came on strong last season to lead the Redskins into the playoffs, the team opted to franchise him rather than sign him to a long-term deal. Cousins has said he’s fine with using under the one-year, $19.95-million franchise deal as an opportunity to prove himself worthy of something more.
“I’m just always trying to prove myself and I’m always being evaluated, and I will always be trying to improve myself as long as I’m playing this game,” Cousins said after the game.
Seems to be working out just fine for him and his team.
Twitter: @chewkiii
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