page_title: Kirk Cousins
section_title: 2017 season
hierarchical_section_title: Kirk Cousins / Professional career / Washington Redskins / 2017 season
caption_attribution_description: Quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins in action against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland.
context_page_description: Kirk Daniel Cousins is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He played college football at Michigan State from 2009 to 2011, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Originally drafted as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III, he occasionally appeared in games, along with a few starts, during his first three seasons with the team.
  In 2015, Cousins replaced an injured Griffin that preseason and remained the team's starter until 2017. With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and appeared in the 2017 Pro Bowl. After two years of being unable to agree with the team on a long-term deal, signing two franchise tags in the process, he signed a three-year, fully guaranteed $84 million contract as a free agent with the Vikings in 2018. At the time, the contract made him the highest-paid player on a per-year basis in NFL history.
context_section_description: Again set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, Cousins and the team attempted to work out a long-term deal before the start of free agency, but could only come to an agreement on the exclusive franchise tag on February 28, 2017, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to be franchise tagged in consecutive years. In a Week 3 victory over the Oakland Raiders on NBC Sunday Night Football, Cousins went 25-for-30 for a season-high 365 yards and three touchdowns, earning him his fourth NFC Offensive Player of the Week award of his career. In Week 10, against the Minnesota Vikings, Cousins tied his single-game career-high with two rushing touchdowns in the 38–30 defeat. Overall, in the 2017 season, Cousins and Redskins finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs. He finished the season 347-of-540 for 4,093 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. The 2017 season marked his third consecutive season of passing for at least 4,000 yards. In addition to his passing totals, he rushed 49 times for 179 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He was ranked 94th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
caption: Cousins running in 2017
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