The Washington Redskins have had a very busy offseason and that could continue with a trade of Kirk Cousins to the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans or Minnesota Vikings ahead of the draft for the RG3 backup, as the team has signed Colt McCoy and they could use the picks to target names like Khalil Mack, Marqise Lee or CJ Mosley at the event in May.
Cousins has said that he is open to a trade and while nothing has gone down yet, it could be an avenue for the Redskins to explore and that would squarely make it RG3's team as Jay Gruden takes over. Gruden has made no mistake about making Griffin the starter, but with the way things went with Cousins last season and his desire to start, a trade could benefit both sides, as the Redskins could use more picks to help fill up holes on offense and defense. ESPN.com writes that the team could look to trade up for someone like Khalil Mack, while Marquise Lee was a target, but now that the team has DeSean Jackson, it likely changes things heading into May.
The Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans have top five picks in the draft and massive needs at quarterback and while everyone expects them to make a pick of names like Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles or Teddy Bridgewater, all options are on the table and Cousins could be in the mix. The Redskins could use the extra draft picks and after going 3-13 last season the team has a ton of needs. The Browns could deal with making a trade after picking up an extra first round pick in the Trent Richardson deal and they also have extra picks after making moves in the draft last season.
Khalil Mack will likely be gone by the time the Redskins pick since they don't have a first round pick, but they could look to trade up to take him, or a name like CJ Mosley, who could slip past the first round but that is unlikely. The Redskins have a number of new players and adding DeSean Jackson should really open up the offense for RG3 and he comes in after having a big career season in 2013 with 82 catches for over 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns. Even with that the Eagles got rid of him and now the Redskins will look to keep his explosive speed working.
Cousins has shown he can handle starting in the NFL and in eight games with four starts he has 1,320 yards and eight touchdowns with 10 interceptions. While those are eye popping numbers, its more experience than Matt Flynn had when the Raiders traded for him and now that could be an option for teams looking for alternatives heading into the draft and next season.
The Redskins come into the season with $7,082,926 on their cap for quarterbacks and they have three names now and that could lead to a move with Cousins. Andre Roberts was signed in the offseason and he was looking for an expanded role, but now he might be in the same position he was in Arizona. The team has Pierre Garcon already and now adding Jackson will surely cut into his production as well.
