When Redskins coach Jay Gruden announced Wednesday that he would be benching quarterback Robert Griffin III, he did so with one interesting caveat.
Griffin, the 24-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner, was demoted only to the backup job, the No. 2 spot on Washington’s quarterback depth chart. So despite his woefully ineffective performances in recent weeks, his glaring mechanical flaws outlined publicly by Gruden, and an overwhelming sense that the team has turned the page on him, Griffin is still just one injury away from a return to the starting lineup.
He is still ranked higher on the depth chart than fellow quarterback Kirk Cousins.
“I’ve got to think about our record with Kirk,” Gruden said. “I think right now, Robert is a better option as No. 2. That’s the way I feel.”
Lost amidst McCoy’s promotion and Griffin’s benching is how the two moves affected Cousins, the third quarterback of the group who now faces an increasingly uncertain future.
Cousins was benched in the second half of a Week 7 game against the Tennessee Titans and has not been active since Griffin returned from a dislocated ankle. In his four complete starts this season, the Redskins are 0-4. In his nine career starts, they are 2-7.
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“Obviously there have been some things that have happened this year that would give you reason to lose confidence, but I have to continue to believe in myself. And I do,” Cousins said. “And I think I’m going to be a good player in this league. I just have to keep working, and learn from mistakes.”
Cousins, who was drafted exactly 100 picks after Griffin in the 2012 draft, has gotten more out of Washington’s offense than either of the other two quarterbacks. He has proven capable of making game-changing plays and racking up yards in the air, throwing for 427 against the Philadelphia Eagles and 354 against the Arizona Cardinals. But he has also made back-breaking mistakes, throwing nine interceptions in parts of six games this year.
The quantity, and late-game nature, of Cousins’ turnovers has withered Gruden’s faith in the third-year quarterback, leaving him at the bottom of the depth chart with little opportunity to work his way up — this season, anyways.
“He’s the head coach and he’ll make those decisions,” Cousins said. “But I’m going to do the best I can in the role that I have and hopefully give him reason to move [me] up from that three spot someday.”
Wide receiver Santana Moss has been one of Cousins’ staunchest supporters in the Redskins locker room. When asked specifically about Cousins on Wednesday, he too acknowledged that the situation is out of his hands.
“At the end of the day, everybody has their opinion. Everybody have what they want to say, and you have to respect that,” Moss said. “When you go through something like we’ve been going through with our quarterback situation this year, either from the missed time of injuries or one quarterback doing a little more than the other, or one having done much more than the other, you just have to roll with the punches.”
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Cousins said he sympathized with Griffin, who accepted the news “as a professional.”
“It’s a tough experience to go through. I feel for him and I’m hurting for him,” Cousins said. “I think a lot of us, a lot of guys on the team, have not had a smooth path. I think to get to this level and play a long time in this league, you have failures, you get benched, you have bad games, you get criticized in the media. It’s just part of this deal, playing in this league.
“So we all have experienced that. We know to some degree what he’s feeling. There’s just a much bigger microscope on him, and so we understand that, and want to support him as teammates the best we can.”
Barring injury, Cousins will likely not play again for the Redskins this season. To improve, and show Gruden that he has improved, Cousins can only shine on the scout team, work harder in practice and watch more film.
“I think not just during the season but in January, February, March, making good use of that offseason time,” Cousins said. “Game experience, there’s no substitute for it. But there are ways I can get better, and I have to do that.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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