Yesterday, the Oakland Raiders and Derek Carr agreed to a contract that would make Carr one of the richest men in the NFL. This negotiation will also have a direct impact on another NFL star, Kirk Cousins. It begs the question, who should be paid more? Lets compare the stats:
Derek Carr (2016):
Att - 560, Comp% - 63.8 Yards Avg -7.03 Total Yds - 3,937 TDs - 28 Ints - 6
Kirk Cousins (2016):
Att - 406, Comp% - 67 Yards Avg -8.11 Total Yds - 4917 TDs - 25 Ints - 12
The most glaring stat against Kirk Cousins is the interceptions which double Carr's interceptions. Making matters worse, most of those picks came at very critical moments. That certainly has to be factored into the Cousins salary negotiations as it speaks to a player's ability to close out games. Carr also had more attempts which gives him a greater body of work and more leniency on the completion percentage. It would also speak to a poor 2016 running game, which in fact was true, but the Redskins also had a very difficult time moving the rock on the ground.
Now for the positive, Cousins nearly put up 5,000 yards in 2016! Take a guess on how many other quarterbacks put up more yards than Kirk last year......2.....Matt Ryan and Drew Brees. In fact, Derek Carr has never had a season over 4,000 yards and Kirk Cousins has already done it twice. Captain Kirk's completion percentage is significantly higher as well ranking him 8th in the league. I also think that both of these players had very similar receiving cores made up of Cooper, Crabtree, Cook verses Jackson, Garcon, and Reed.
What are your thoughts? Should the Redskins pay this man the money?
