In 2012, former Washington coach Mike Shanahan took a fourth-round flier on quarterback Kirk Cousins, in the same year the team gave up three ones and a two to get Robert Griffin III. And it’s possible that Shanahan is laying the foundation to swoop back into the NFL with Cousins as his quarterback.
Shanahan has continuously praised Cousins, at a time when Shanahan has made it clear he wants what would be a fourth NFL head-coaching opportunity. His latest remarks were the most over-the-top yet.
“I think he’s a guy that can take your team and win a Super Bowl,” Shanahan told ESPN 980, via Clinton Yates of the Washington Post. “And that’s the biggest compliment I can give somebody. Does this person have the ability, the ingredients, that if he has the right supporting cast on offense/defense and special teams, can he win you a Super Bowl? And I believe that Kirk Cousins has that ability.”
More immediately, Kirk Cousins may have the ability to get Shanahan what he really wants. Because when teams that inevitably will be looking for new coaches because they invariably have bad quarterback situations will be hiring in January, Shanahan’s plan for any interviews he gets will include getting Cousins to be the team’s quarterback.
Yes, Cousins will be a free agent after the season. And Washington would have to devote nearly $20 million in cash and cap space to keep Cousins off the market for 2016. Which means, unless Washington gets to the Super Bowl or close to it, Cousins is likely to hit the open market. Which will make it easy for Shanahan to recruit Cousins to Shanahan’s new team, if he can land one.
Ultimately, it’s the money that talks. But Shanahan’s chatter surely will make it easier to lure Cousins when the time comes to pick a new team.
For Shanahan’s purposes, landing Cousins is one thing. Using the possibility of landing Cousins to secure an NFL job two months before Cousins becomes a free agent is another. And the only way for Washington to block that will be to sign Cousins to a new contract before the end of the season.
