MOBILE, Ala. — When Scot McCloughan was hired as the Washington Redskins’ general manager last January, there were plenty of questions about the roster, none bigger than the future of the quarterback position. The Redskins ultimately found an answer in Kirk Cousins, who proved he is capable of being a viable starter and a core player the team can build around.
Speaking during a Senior Bowl practice on Wednesday, McCloughan made it clear that he envisions Cousins, an impending free agent, in the Redskins’ plans moving forward. Cousins’ statistics from last season — a franchise-record 4,166 passing yards, 29 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions — marked a vast improvement from the player who was benched in 2014.
“The coaches, players, especially in the second year for a lot of these offensive guys and being in a system for a second year, there’s more confidence,” McCloughan said. “I think you saw it with Kirk and guys playing better and better as the season went on.”
That said, McCloughan cautioned against ignoring college quarterbacks as he and his staff dig into the trove of talent that will be on display at the Senior Bowl and NFL combine as the Redskins prepare for the draft.
“Nothing is dead set at the position,” McCloughan said. “What I’m doing here is quarterback, offensive lineman, safety, corner — it doesn’t matter. I’m looking for the best football players. It would be nice to get everything locked in place going forward, but we don’t [have that]. No team really does completely. It’s always about building, no matter what.”
McCloughan did not want to get into specifics about Cousins’ contract situation, but said he’d rather work out a long-term deal than use the franchise tag, which projects to be roughly $19 million for next season.
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Cousins’ emergence appeared to spell the end of Robert Griffin III’s tenure with the Redskins, but McCloughan also said that the team is in no rush to cut Griffin. Griffin did not play in a game this season and was inactive just once in Week 6 against the New York Jets.
The Redskins can cut Griffin as early as Feb. 8, but have until March 9, which marks the start of the next league year. In May, the team picked up Griffin’s fifth-year option for 2016, which is valued at approximately $16.2 million. If the Redskins cut him before March 9, they will not have to pay him that salary.
“The thing that’s good about where we’re at right now is we have until March 9,” McCloughan said. “I want to sit with the coaches — not just coordinators [and] position coaches, but everyone individually — to get a feel for it. He is a good football player, he’s a really good person and he’s under contract, and that’s where we are at right now.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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