Kirk Cousins is once again circling the NFL trade circuit as the Washington Redskins prepare to enter a crucial offseason for the team. The last few years have been disappointing in Washington and the team is desperate to get some offensive consistency going. At the moment, Robert Griffin III will be the offensive leader for the upcoming season, but Kirk Cousins does not intend to go down without a fight.
The Washington Redskins are still very high on the potential of Griffin despite two years of disappointing results. The quarterback has yet to duplicate the success of his rookie season as some might say he has taken steps back in his develop. Regardless of the stats and injuries, head coach Jay Gruden intends to stick with Griffin for at least one more season, naming him the starter over Kirk Cousins.
"You know, we'll go into the season with Robert as the number one guy, and you know, it's up to Robert to continue to grow and mature as a quarterback and as a person," Gruden said, via the Washington Post. "Then moving forward, we just want to see some improvement. It's up to us as a staff to get more out of him. We expect him to work and come back in great spirits, and ready to roll. That's all he can do. He can just continue to work on his craft. Obviously he's not a finished product."
Backing Griffin as the future sends the message that Cousins is available for trades. The Michigan State product has stated several times that he aims to be a starter in the NFL, but is not vying for a trade out of Washington. Instead, ProFootballTalk.com reports the backup quarterback is down in Tampa training with Jon Gruden hoping to improve and make a run at the Redskins starting spot.
Washington must be sure about the quarterback of the future. They are approaching the need to make a very expensive decision on Griffin and the improvement of Cousins will dictate a lot for the coming years. The Redskins must decide whether to pick up a very expensive fifth-year option on Griffin or let the quarterback play out the final year of his deal and potentially find his replacement after that.
The Redskins gave up a lot to get the quarterback, but will have to give up that and more just to keep him around at the market price. Right now they do not have a dependable quarterback on the roster. If Cousins comes back looking much improved, the Redskins might opt to begin moving on from Griffin sooner rather than later.
