SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- There are plenty of reasons why a marriage between the San Francisco 49ers, coach Kyle Shanahan and Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins could happen.

And, after ESPN's John Keim reported San Francisco is Cousins' preferred destination should Washington want to move him, it's realistic to think something could be worked out.

Obviously, there are obstacles to making such a deal happen, especially with the Redskins placing the franchise tag on Cousins Tuesday. But keep in mind that the 49ers don't have to rush into anything or give up the farm to land Cousins. If Cousins wants to be a 49er and the 49ers want Cousins to be their franchise quarterback, there simply isn't much leverage for the Redskins to maximize the return if they decided to trade him to San Francisco, unless they could generate a bidding war.

After all, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have made it clear they are willing to be patient to get the right guy at quarterback.

"It’s too important of a position to make an impulsive move," Shanahan told KNBR radio in mid-February. "When you make a decision on a quarterback, you don’t want that to be just a short-term fix. You want to make a commitment to somebody. And in order to do that, you better make sure you’re on the same page with everyone else, you’ve put the time in, you’ve talked to people who have been with these guys. There’s a lot that goes into it."

There would also be a lot that goes into bringing Cousins to San Francisco. The 49ers surprised the NFL world when they handed Lynch and Shanahan matching six-year contracts. Those contracts came with plenty of money, but also an inherent implication that patience would be the word of the day around the Bay.

The 49ers have plenty of cap space and draft capital, but they also have many needs. They are clearly aware one of the surest ways to hit a speed bump on the road to a rebuild is to miss on their long-term answer at quarterback.

In Cousins, there's an undeniable fit. Shanahan was offensive coordinator when the Redskins selected Cousins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft. In the time since, Cousins has developed into a Pro Bowl starter, throwing for 4,917 yards and 25 touchdowns for a passer rating of 97.2 last season. Over the past two seasons, Cousins has thrown for 9,083 yards (fourth most in the NFL), 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions for a passer rating of 99.3 (sixth) and a 71.3 QBR (fourth).

Bringing Cousins to San Francisco would lessen the learning curve for Shanahan’s offense and give holdovers and new additions someone to lean on as they learn the system. It wouldn’t be an instant fix, but it might speed the process a bit.

Though Washington placed the franchise tag on Cousins for the second year in a row Tuesday (at a whopping cost of $23.94 million), there hasn’t been much progress on a long-term contract.

Washington has been hesitant to give Cousins the exorbitant contract a franchise quarterback commands, but there’s little doubt that Shanahan views him in that regard. With the 49ers having nearly $80 million in salary-cap space, they could make a deal and still have plenty of money left to bolster his supporting cast.

That doesn’t mean the 49ers should be in a hurry to trade top picks for Cousins, though. Even though Washington tagged Cousins, it could trade him. Cousins could also play the 2017 season under the tag and force Washington’s hand again in 2018, when the Redskins would be unlikely to tag him a third time at a price tag of nearly $30 million. Then, the 49ers could then simply sign Cousins.

To be sure, getting Cousins in San Francisco sooner than later would be beneficial for the short and long-term health of the franchise. It would make the 49ers more appealing to free agents and offer a sense of stability for a franchise that is in desperate need of it.

It would also give the 49ers -- for better or worse -- complete certainty about the people filling the three most important roles for the franchise moving forward -- Lynch, Shanahan and Cousins.

Of course, a lot can change in a year. Cousins could be injured or he could have a huge season and coax Washington into finally paying up to keep him.

So if the Redskins decide they want to trade Cousins and the 49ers are the preferred destination, it would still be worth giving up something to get him. But there’s no need to panic and sell a bounty of high-value draft picks to get Cousins now when they could potentially land him later. And if they don’t, they still have plenty of ammunition to find the right guy via another avenue.

Already this offseason, the 49ers have showed plenty of patience in landing their general manager and head coach. In the end, they believe they got the right guys. When it comes to finding their franchise quarterback, be it Cousins or someone else, there’s no reason to expect that approach to change.