Redskins president sounds like he’s referring to Kirk Cousins as ‘Kurt’ in recent video

Washington Redskins President Bruce Allen really wanted Kirk Cousins to sign a long-term deal with the team. Allen worked really hard trying to make that happen, offering to make the quarterback one of the highest paid players in NFL history.

But somehow during all of that — not to mention the five seasons Cousins has been with the Redskins — Allen never learned the guy’s first name.

At least those are the impressions given during a recent video released by Allen in which he discussed the negotiation process with Cousins and repeatedly sounds like he’s referring to him by the name “Kurt.”

Every single time — six to be exact. Listen:

In the video, Allen said the team offered Cousins a five-year deal with $53 million guaranteed but never heard back from him. So now Cousins will be the Redskins’ franchise player for the second year in a row, this time making $23.94 million.

Cousins explained his thinking Tuesday during a radio appearance on D.C.’s 106.7 The Fan.

“There have been a lot of changes in our organization since the end of last season,” Cousins said. “I want to allow time to help make this decision.

“I believe wisdom is never impatient, and so I think it’s smart to slow the process down, and to be patient and to allow things to play themselves out, to gather more information. I want to make the best decision I can. Being that in most NFL situations, this is the only year that’s promised to us anyways, I don’t feel a whole lot of extra security by having a long-term deal. So the one-year deal didn’t really scare me.”

As far as Cousins’ first name is concerned, a team representative told ESPN that Allen does, in fact, call the quarterback “Kirk,” it’s just that his Virginia accent makes it difficult to understand. That may sound kind of fishy, but take a look at this clip of Allen (on the left) talking to Redskins broadcaster Larry Michael:

So maybe Allen does know his quarterback’s name after all. Either way, it doesn’t bother Cousins.

“I’ve been called Kurt my entire life,” he said. “I remember having different teachers and instructors who would call me Kurt. It doesn’t matter. It’s not a big deal. Trust me, it’s probably not as big an issue as some make it out to be.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii