The Washington Redskins have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL this season and with all hope for the playoffs gone at 3-10, Mike Shanahan has decided to start Kirk Cousins against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, benching starter Robert Griffin III and now a showdown over RG3 could be looming with owner Dan Snyder.
According to ESPN.com, sources said that Snyder would not interfere with the decision from Mike Shanahan and with Griffin playing bad this season and coming off of a knee injury, it probably is the smart move for the franchise, even though it's tough to swallow. The Redskins have made numbers mistakes involving RG3 and starting him in Week 1 was one of the biggest and now he will be shut down for the final three weeks of the season and that should enable him to get healthy heading into the offseason to prepare for next season, as these last three games ate essentially meaningless for the Skins.
The team has followed up its great performance last season with a dud this year and now Shanahan is on the hot seat and he could be fired at any point, especially right after the season. Shanahan has had some issues with Griffin and Snyder and now he could be asking for it by benching his star QB, but for as bad as it looks, it likely is the right choice. Cousins has been solid when he has had the chance to play and last season he was forced into action when Griffin was injured and this could be an audition for other teams down the line.
Griffin has been sacked 24 times in the past five games according to ESPN.com and he has been sacked over 30 times this season and now Cousins comes in after he was a fourth round pick in the same year that Griffin was number two. The Redskins gave up a huge package to draft Griffin and now the Rams will benefit, as they will get the first round pick for the team this year and now Cousins will start against the Falcons and it shapes up to what happened last year when Cousins started against the Browns and won the game after pulling out a win against the Ravens after RG3 was injured.
Cousins has no TDs and 107 yards this season and last season he was solid with 466 yards on 33 of 48 passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions and now he will get the chance to start again. Cousins could get traded one day down the line, but for now he is the Redskins starter. Shanahan is a near lame duck with one year and $7 million on his contract left and apart from a seven game winning streak last season, he is 16-37 as head coach.