Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan deactivated star quarterback Robert Griffin III and declared that Kirk Cousins would be the starter for the remaining three games of the season with Rex Grossman as the backup. If you’re a football fan you’ve seen this scenario before. Cousins has demonstrated the ability to be a viable quarterback and if he has a great showing in these last three games the Redskins could trade him for possibly a first round draft pick.
“If he lights it up, hey, maybe we can bring a first-round draft choice back to this organization, and say, ‘Hey, who are we gonna take in the first round,'” Shanahan told ESPN 980, via Sports Bog. “And I think by him playing and Robert not playing, it gives us a chance to have a few options for our organization that we wouldn’t normally have, and the safety of our quarterback going into the offseason is preserved. … And we’re still getting a chance to see a guy that we’ve got a lot of confidence in go out there and play. And his value can only go up. It cannot go down. It can only go up.”
The Redskins gave up three first-round picks — including one in 2014 — and a second-rounder to trade up in the 2012 draft and for the chance to take Griffin. So recouping one of those first-round picks could certainly help a team with needs up and down the roster. Except that we can’t imagine a team parting with one for Cousins.
“If Cousins plays well and they get a second-round pick for him, great,” an NFL front-office executive told Mark Maske of the Washington Post. “The next coach can come in and tell Robert Griffin, ‘You’re my guy,’ and try to put it all back together.
“But that team is a mess right now. What if [Cousins] looks bad? What if they can’t get what they want for him and he stays around? Then you’ve got Robert Griffin looking over his shoulder. You’ve got the fans and media calling for Cousins every time Robert Griffin has a bad game. You’ve opened that door. This could turn out bad.”
