Then you should move on from him. The option is either to re-sign him or to let him go. There's no in-between. It makes ZERO sense to franchise tag him for that much money. And then he has to battle it out lol? Cousins was getting historical contracts with that franchise tag. Had the Deadskins signed him initially they would've got Cousins for a bargain.
They were not sold he was the franchise; just like I am not sold Dak is. Some good QB's coming out in 20, get through 19 and decide then. I'd rather spend 30M on a tag, even back to back, than tie it up for 6 years and eat dead money. If they plan for it, they can do it.
However, while I am not sold that he's a Tier 1 QB; I am not sold that if they put the right kind of team around him and let him manage the game, that he can't be a championship QB. The question is can and will they do that.
And while we mull over these numbers and talk about other highly paid QB's, how are they doing? Brady, Flacco, Manning and Rothliesberger are the only multiple active ring bearers. A team does not have to have a Tier 1 QB, see Flacco and Manning, to get Lombardi's.