Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL and Robert Griffin III could find that out the hard way. The Washington Redskins quarterback is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks of the season after dislocating his ankle in Sunday's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Redskins confirmed that there was no fracture meaning Griffin could make a potential comeback before the year is over, but what if Kirk Cousins suddenly starts performing well in his absence?
Cousins stepped in for Griffin and played very well. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over. Make no mistakes, the backup quarterback is no slouch and while those numbers were against one of the worst teams in the NFL, they are still something to put stock into. So what happens if Cousins steps onto the field against the Philadelphia Eagles next week and gets the road win over an NFC East rival? Head coach Jay Gruden said he would not address the issue until he has to.
"We'll cross that bridge when that comes. Right now we're going to prepare with Kirk Cousins as our starter, and Robert's going to rehab. All decisions after that will come after that," Gruden said, via Pro Football Talk.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Gruden has favored Cousins as the starting quarterback all along. He runs a typical pro offense and has never been much of a read-option type of guy which is what Griffin operates under. Cousins is a pocket-passing quarterback, more suited for Gruden's favored style of offense. However, Washington drafted Griffin to be the franchise star and intend on sticking with that plan forcing Gruden to spend his time developing Griffin over Cousins.
For his part, Cousins is saying all of the right things to the media. He was quick to say that the Redskins were "Robert's team", but that might change. If Cousins has the hot hand, Gruden will not suddenly make the switch back to Griffin no matter who was the higher draft pick. Cousins proved that he can be successful with players like DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon which could make his job as starter more permanent.
"This is Robert's team," Cousins said, via the Washington Post. "My job is to be the backup quarterback, and if called upon to come in and play, then I better play and help this team win. That job doesn't change. This is Robert's team."
