Kirk Cousins Plans to Prove Himself in RGIII’s Absence
By Josh Hill
With Robert Griffin III out with an ACL injury, Kirk Cousins is now the man in Washington which means if he already hadn’t been given a brilliant opportunity to prove himself as a starter, this offseason could be when we see Cousins truly bloom into a hot commodity around the NFL. He’s only started one game in his career, but even with just one and a half performances under his belt, teams already were giving him a look to see if he was worth a starting role.
If one performance did that to NFL execs, imagine what an entire offseason of first team reps will do to Cousins’ stock.
“I’m a little bit out of place right now,” Cousins told Rich Campbell of theWashington Times. “It’s neat. It’s just an exciting thing. It’s just a testament to what hard work can do for you. Hopefully there’s more of this to come, not just for myself, but for the Redskins in general.”
Cousins replaced Robert Griffin III in a game against the Super Bowl champion Ravens this season in which he helped lead the Redskins back to win. He then started the Redskins next game against the Browns and turned in a great performance in that game too. While he knows his place on his team and isn’t trying to usurp Griffin as the starter, he is going to try and be a vocal leader in the Rookie of the Year’s absence.
“Now, in terms of my presence in the locker room and that kind of a thing, I’ll probably try to be a little more vocal so that I don’t come across to my teammates as somebody who’s afraid of that role or not comfortable in that role,” Cousins said. “It’ll be an interesting balance to have to walk because obviously I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, but I also need to be ready if called upon.”
The Redskins fully expect Griffin III to be back in time to start the 2013 season, but in the meantime it’s Cousin’s stage. He may not be ready to be a starter in the NFL, but a great offseason as the Redskins starter can fast track Cousins’ NFL career.
“Any time you can have a good idea of what’s coming, it’s going to help. But the reality of my situation – and really the reality of the NFL, in general – is you don’t know what’s coming next. You don’t know what’s around the corner. To think that it’s always going to be planned out for you is naive and foolish. I’ve got to be ready to roll with the punches and react to whatever happens. To the degree that I’m able to do that, I’ll be successful.”