During the Sunday broadcast of the preseason game between the Texans and Saints, FOX displayed a large graphic with photos of the three potential Week One quarterbacks in Washington, along with a claim at the bottom of the screen that Kirk Cousins has been named the Week One starter.
It was couched not as a report but as a fact. And it was news to me. It was also news to the team.
The team says it’s not true, deferring to the statements made after Saturday night’s game by coach Jay Gruden. Starter Robert Griffin III, who is cleared to practice but not play after suffering a concussion 10 days ago against the Lions, could still be cleared to play in the regular-season opener.
“I’m not going to announce anything right now,” Gruden said on Saturday night regarding Week One against Miami. “First of all, I need to read these reports. These reports are confusing. We need to sit down and talk to all the players involved, and make our decision as a staff and go from there. This was all put on us in the last minute. We had a great game. Kirk [Cousins] played great. Colt [McCoy] played great. And the offensive line played excellent. Defense got some turnovers. I was happy with the way we played, and the rest of this stuff will sort itself out.”
Gruden is right; there are so many conflicting reports and accounts that everyone is confused about what’s happening. Including whoever made the graphic at FOX.
UPDATE 7:03 p.m. ET: FOX has now fixed the graphic, with the addition of a question mark.
