Kirk Cousins Denies Rumors He Requested Trade from Redskins Owner Dan Snyder

Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins downplayed speculation he recently reached out to team owner Dan Snyder to request a trade.

On Tuesday, John Keim of ESPN.com passed along comments the 28-year-old made during an appearance on the Know Them From Adam podcast with ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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

Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reported last week Cousins asked Snyder about a trade but was told "not to get his hopes up."

The quarterback, who signed a one-year tender to play under the franchise tag for a second straight season Friday, denied any type of trade demand in his interview with Schefter. He first learned about the report during a visit to a shoe store.

"I laughed and thought, 'I don't know where that comes from because that wasn't the case,'" Cousins said. "Somehow it got twisted to where an employee of the store is using the word demanded. That's not the approach I took."

If nothing changes, the Michigan State product will carry a cap hit of just over $23.9 million for the 2017 season, which Spotrac notes is the fourth-highest figure in the NFL.

Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post reported in early March the sides had engaged in talks about a potential long-term extension. He noted they "aren't close to a deal," however, with the Redskins offering around $20 million per season.

Interestingly, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports noted a similar offer one year ago with $44 million in guaranteed money would have got the extension done.

Trying to find a solution on the trade market is growing increasingly difficult.

Between the start of the free-agent frenzy and the upcoming draft in April, the number of teams desperately searching for quarterbacks is starting to dwindle. The Redskins front office would have held more leverage a couple of weeks ago, when there were at least eight teams in the market.

Meanwhile, Keim reported the San Francisco 49ers are Cousins' "preferred destination" in a trade. He pointed out the quarterback would like to work with new Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan, his former offensive coordinator, and wouldn't sign an immediate extension anywhere else.

So even if other teams were intrigued by the idea of trading for him, the offers would be significantly lower if forced to operate under the assumption he'd be a one-year rental.

Ultimately, the likelihood of his staying in Washington for at least one more season increases with each day. Cousins performed well while playing under the tag last season, tossing 25 touchdowns and posting a 97.2 passer rating, as the Redskins ranked second in passing yards per game and made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.