Yes, Washington believes it can eventually find a better option at quarterback than Kirk Cousins. No, Jimmy Clausen isn’t the answer.
But Clausen could end up with a roster spot, albeit possibly as only a camp arm, in Washington. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Washington worked out Clausen on Monday.
A much-hyped college quarterback at Notre Dame who arrived in the NFL as a second-round pick of the Panthers six years ago, Clausen quickly was supplanted by Cam Newton, the first pick of the following draft.
Clausen started 10 games as a rookie, then didn’t play again until 2014 with the Bears. He started once that year, once for the Bears in 2015, and twice last year in Baltimore after Joe Flacco and Matt Schaub were lost for the season.
Washington currently has Cousins, Colt McCoy, and rookie Nate Sudfeld on the depth chart. With McCoy filling the role of veteran backup and Sudfeld the young, developmental product, there likely won’t be a 53-man assignment for Clausen unless Cousins or McCoy suffer a serious injury.
UPDATE 1:08 p.m. ET: Rapoport also reports that Washington worked out receiver Marlon Brown and other pass-catchers. Which suggests that Clausen was there not to audition for the role of camp arm, but to be the tryout arm.
