Cousins faces awkward start
He will lead Redskins against his former mentor
When Kirk Cousins takes the field Sunday for the Washington Redskins, the quarterback will find himself at a curious intersection of his past, present and — possibly — his future.
On the visiting sideline will be San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who played a role in Washington’s selection of Cousins in the fourth round of the 2012 draft (three rounds after the team took Robert Griffin III second overall). Shanahan also helped position Cousins for his unexpected rise to starter three years later.
On the home sideline, and on the mic in Cousins’ helmet: Jay Gruden, who picked up where Shanahan left off when Washington fired the then-offensive coordinator and his father, head coach Mike Shanahan, at the end of the 2013 season. Gruden eventually hitched his Washington tenure to Cousins, choosing him over the former face of the franchise, Griffin, in 2015.
Now Cousins and Gruden aim to lead the Redskins to a third consecutive winning season and a return to the playoffs.
They do so while blocking out the fact that this could represent their final year together with Cousins set to hit free agency again after becoming the first NFL quarterback to play on the franchise tag in consecutive seasons.
Meanwhile, Shanahan — five games into his head coaching career — seeks his first victory while working with a roster still lacking a number of key building blocks, most notably a franchise quarterback. Because of Cousins’ and Shanahan’s mutual respect — and the way Cousins’ skill set perfectly fits Shanahan’s offense — San Francisco is expected to rank among the quarterback’s suitors in free agency.
Washington’s chances of retaining Cousins beyond this season hinge largely on the success he and Gruden achieve. Even after Cousins set the franchise’s single-season record for passing yards in 2015 (4,166) then shattered it last year (4,917), team officials were reluctant to give him a fair market contract. But they’d be foolish not to do so if Cousins leads Washington to the NFC East title.
Even if Cousins receives a strong offer from the Redskins next year, he could take his services elsewhere if he finds a more ideal fit. He has a good relationship with Gruden. But concerns about the stability of the franchise under team president Bruce Allen, following general manager Scot McCloughan’s firing, played a role in Cousins’ decision to pass on Washington’s final offer of the summer, one light on guaranteed money.
Cousins has said repeatedly that he values fit and trust over dollars and cents. Shanahan and the 49ers, projected to have more than $100 million in salary cap space in 2018, could offer both.
Other suitors will arise as well, so Cousins had no problem entering 2017 in a familiar prove-it mode. He is coming off two of his better performances while posting a combined 585 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a blowout win over the Oakland Raiders and a last-minute loss to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.
Some critics will remain un- convinced until they see him win a playoff game. But Cousins no longer should have to answer questions about whether he’s a bona fide starter or if he should be paid like other rising young passers such as Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford and Andrew Luck.
As Cousins put his team on his back down the stretch of that Kansas City game, using his legs and his arms to direct a comeback quest — he threw a potential game-winning touchdown that receiver Josh Doctson couldn’t hang on to — one league insider texted me unprompted to say that Washington would be stupid not to lock Cousins up to a longterm deal this offseason, believing Washington won’t find a better option in free agency and would regress if forced to reset the position in the draft. Two other insiders agreed when asked for their opinions.
But contract talks must wait. Franchise tag rules prohibit negotiations in season. The Redskins might have to decide whether to use a massive $34 million-plus tag next year to merely keep Cousins off the market as they try to get a long-term deal done.
It’s funny how things work out in the NFL. Cousins wasn’t Plan A for Washington in 2012, and he wasn’t even the original Plan B. Shanahan revealed this week that the Redskins had wanted Russell Wilson in the fourth round because he had dual-threat abilities mirroring RG3’s. But the Seattle Seahawks took Wilson in Round 3, leaving Cousins as the fallback.
“We were excited from what we saw in his college film, and that’s what we liked the most about him, and that’s why we wanted him,” Shanahan told reporters. “The more you are around the guy, you became even more impressed of how special of a person he is.”
Five years later, Cousins ranks among the league leaders in completion percentage and passer rating. And this year he has displayed an improved command of the offense, greater confidence and aggression — and doing so after the free agent departures of two 1,000-yard receivers, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Their young replacements, Terrelle Pryor and Doctson, have made progress as Cousins has found ways to elevate their play.
“His entire game is evolving,” Gruden said of Cousins. “He’s just going to continue to see things and adjust to the different defenses and the fronts and the coverage that he sees.
“Playing quarterback is all about experiences, learning from your mistakes, moving forward and continuing to compete at a high level — on a consistent high level. And that’s what he’s so far doing.”