Contemplating the fate of my Washington Redskins this morning I had a bit of a revelation regarding soon-to-be departed quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Conventional wisdom around here seems to be that Cousins is a very good player who may well be even better if he goes to work for a better organization. Heck, he might even take a team with a great defense like the Broncos or the Jags to the Super bowl.
Maybe. But if past is prologue and it so often is, Cousins will likely keep doing exactly what he’s already been doing the past couple of years—play just well enough to get you in position to make some noise, but perhaps not quite well enough to actually bang anybody’s gong in the playoffs.
Redskins fans know well how Cousins went from the amazing comeback win in the ‘You Like That!??’ game against the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2016… to a laying a stink bomb against the nothing-to-play-for Giants just weeks later when a win would have put the Skins in the post season. And don’t forget last year’s game against the San Diego Chargers. With a possible playoff spot on the line, Cousins completed 15 of 27 passes for a 150 yards in a crushing defeat.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Kirk Cousins. He is by all accounts good guy and a pretty good, maybe even very good quarterback most of the time. But periodic implosions just when you can’t afford one are kind of his trademark. And I don’t think that changes just because he’s playing for someone else.
I think everyone is right when they say Kirk Cousins has played his situation perfectly to maximize his value and potential contract. Good for him—I’m not hatin. But here’s an outlandish thought. It may be that the Redskins… by not paying Cousins more than he’s worth… and managing to acquire what at least looks like an adequate replacement in Alex Smith…have played the situation pretty well too.