As of right now, it appears Jay Gruden will return to the Washington Redskins in 2015. NBC Washington was already reporting the head coach was informed that he would be returning for his second year as head coach and now NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport is confirming that Gruden will be back. However, it will be much of the same in Washington as the team continues to work through the right direction to take their quarterback position for the future, determining whether or not Robert Griffin III will be a part of it or not.
Rapoport is reporting that along with Gruden, Griffin is expected to return to the Redskins. There have been numerous trade rumors surrounding the quarterback after back-to-back seasons of struggles, but the market appears to be very slim for him and the Redskins are deciding to bring him back for at least another season. It does not appear like Washington will pick up the quarterback's fifth-year option, but will let him finish out his contract in Washington.
"Moving forward, I think [Griffin's] got the arm talent to be a good quarterback, obviously some issues in the pocket have to be worked with," Gruden said. "Anticipation, accuracy, there's a lot of things that can be improved on, but that's every quarterback in the NFL will have to improve on every part of their game from one season to the next and he's no different."
The question now becomes who will play alongside him in the rotation. Reports surfaced on Monday that backup Kirk Cousins had demanded a trade from Washington at the end of the season. Cousins started the year as a backup, but then was promoted to starter and then demoted to third string after causing more turnovers than touchdowns. However, Cousins is denying the idea that he is demanding a move from the Redskins.
"I'm on a four-year contract, so that's a little bit out of my control," Cousins said, via the Washington Post. "I'll talk to the coaches and talk to management and see where we go from there. At the end of the day, I have a four-year contract, and that's where I'm at. I think more than anything I want to compete. You come into the league, and you want to compete. When I was drafted, I was told there was no competition. That's the way it has been. That's what I've known. When you come into the league, you want to compete."
Gruden stated that having three quarterbacks on the roster is difficult in terms of momentum. Colt McCoy's contract is expiring which would hint that he is the odd man out, but he was the only player responsible for the most wins on the schedule this season. Gruden may be returning as head coach, but the work and drama is just beginning.
