Bruce Allen Denies Redskins Tried to Trade Kirk Cousins Despite Rumors

Washington team president Bruce Allen put a damper on lingering Kirk Cousins trade rumors Sunday.  

According to JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic, Allen said, "I can't keep up with the rumors. Kirk and I have talked almost a dozen times this offseason, and we get to laugh when we hear these different rumors. We haven't talked to anyone."

Washington put the franchise tag on Cousins for the second straight offseason, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Mike Jones and Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post noted he became the first signal-caller in league history to receive the franchise tag two years in a row since the league introduced it in 1993.

Allen clarified he wants to keep Cousins for the foreseeable future despite the team's ability to trade him, per Finley: "Our goal from the beginning has been long-term. I'm still hopeful and confident we'll do it."

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk previously reported the Cleveland Browns were trying to trade for Cousins. Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported Cousins "appealed personally to owner Dan Snyder for a trade," although Cousins denied that on ESPN's Adam Schefter's Know Them From Adam podcast (h/t John Keim of ESPN.com). Instead, the signal-caller said he was simply asking what the team's plans were.

Given Allen's comments, it appears Cousins will remain in Washington and attempt to build on his career-high 4,917 passing yards from a season ago.