East Notes: Cousins, Brady, Lombardi, Jets

The latest reports on contract talks between the Redskins and Kirk Cousins suggested that the two sides may not be reaching a long-term pact prior to the July 15 deadline, and that Cousins may consequently play out the 2016 season on the $19.95MM franchise tender. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB pointed out, Washington could be playing with fire if, as expected, Andrew Luck signs a record-breaking extension with the Colts and Cousins turns in another strong year.

Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com echoes those sentiments. He believes that, as we are still nearly three weeks away from July 15, both player and team are exercising the appropriate amount of patience and are right to not rush into a deal, but he does note that the Redskins have to be worried about the pending Luck contract. As Tandler writes, Washington could lock up Cousins today for something in the neighborhood of $20MM per year, but if they wait until next season, the club could end up paying more than $40MM more over the life of Cousins’ contract than if it acts now.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions:

• Tomorrow marks five full weeks since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady filed a request for an en banc hearing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, legal experts anticipated that the Court would take no more than six weeks to make its decision, so Brady should know within the next few days whether he will get a second bite at the appellate apple.
• Ben Volin of The Boston Globe hears that Michael Lombardi‘s recent departure from the Patriots was not as mutual as it was first reported. Volin writes that New England was happy to have Lombardi serve as the team’s assistant to the coaching staff the past two years, because most of his salary was still being paid by the Browns, but after Lombardi’s contract expired, the Patriots chose not to keep Lombardi on the books. Volin adds that head coach Bill Belichick was Lombardi’s only real ally inside the building, and that Lombardi’s role in bringing in former Browns like Jabaal Sheard and Dion Lewis was overstated.
• In his ongoing examination of each team’s best and worst contracts, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com writes that the best deal on the Jets‘ books is Brandon Marshall‘s, whereas Fitzgerald believes David Harris‘ deal is the team’s worst contract.