Kirk Cousins Open To Trade

FEBRUARY 16: In a piece for his Real Redskins blog, Rich Tandler indicates that Cousins does not have to be dealt before or during the May 8 draft if the Redskins want to trade him this year. Although many pundits look at the team’s lack of a first-round pick this year and assume that Washington would want to add a second- or third-rounder to supplement their 2014 draft haul–and that the team would hang on to Cousins if they cannot swing such a deal–Tandler says that isn’t necessarily the case. Instead, Tandler writes the Redskins may be content to wait for a team that missed out on a QB it wanted in the draft, or a team that suffers an injury in the preseason, to come calling.

FEBRUARY 12: In an appearance on SiriusXM Radio, Cousins himself confirmed today that he’d be open to a trade (Twitter link). While that came with the caveat that he’s happy in Washington and loves the city, the fact that he didn’t simply shoot down the idea of a trade certainly suggests that he’s considered the possibility.

FEBRUARY 2: Redskins backup QB Kirk Cousins is open to a trade and has told the team as much, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The Washington brass has declared Robert Griffin III the unquestioned starter heading into 2014, and although Cousins loves the organization, he believes he is ready to start and would rather play than serve as Griffin’s backup again.

As noted earlier, the Browns would be one potential landing spot for Cousins. Such a scenario is more likely now that the Browns have selected Kyle Shanahan as their new offensive coordinator. Shanahan, of course, was the Redskins OC for each of Cousins’ two years in Washington, so the two are very familiar with each other. Tony Grossi of ESPN.com (via Twitter) seems to expect a great deal of Cousins-to-the-Browns rumors in the near future. Grossi, though, also tweets that the Cousins story amounts to a “sucker’s trade” where the Redskins can drop the line and see who bites.

The Jets may be another option if Washington wanted to deal Cousins. ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini tweets that Jets fans may find the news of Cousins’ openness to a trade “interesting,” particularly in light of Geno Smith‘s recent off-field issues. As CBSSports.com’s Josh Katzowitz reported yesterday, Jets head coach Rex Ryan stopped short of naming Smith the team’s starting QB heading into 2014.

Meanwhile, Joel Corry of National Football Post tweets that Cousins’ being open to a trade was “inevitable” since the day he was drafted to back up Griffin, and Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets that this is “not news.” Jones notes that Cousins has spoken many times about wanting to audition for other teams.

Cousins has shown flashes in his limited playing time, but his statistics thus far are fairly pedestrian. He has appeared in eight games in his career, starting four of them. In that time, he has thrown for 1,320 yards, eight touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.