Washington Commanders

Redskins Rumors: Players Upset With Kirk Cousins' Poor Play

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Washington Redskins could be facing some locker room turmoil if Kirk Cousins does not improve his play in the upcoming weeks.

We are only two games into the 2016 NFL season, but the Washington Redskins are apparently already dealing with locker room issues. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, some offensive players on the Redskins are beginning to grow frustrated with Kirk Cousins’ play. Florio got this information from “a source with knowledge of the situation.”

According to Florio, the players that are complaining are doing so because of “a lack of decisiveness, erratic play, and confusion.” Given the way that Cousins has performed over the first couple of games, they have a right to be upset.

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While Cousins’ numbers say that he has been accurate, he actually has struggled to make a lot of throws. In Sunday’s game alone, Cousins misfired on three passes that could have been long touchdowns.

Jamison Crowder had no defender within five yards of him when Cousins overthrew him on the opening drive. DeSean Jackson had a step on a defender when Cousins overthrew him midway through the game. In the fourth quarter, Cousins underthrew Josh Doctson. The rookie converted the play into a 57 yard gain, but it was still a bad pass. Had Doctson been able to catch the pass in stride, it likely would have been a score.

Cousins simply has not looked as sharp as he did towards the end of last season. Maybe his confidence is shaken, but he needs to be able to play better in order for the Redskins to win. He did throw an interception today that completely changed the momentum of the game. The Redskins had a chance to expand their 23-20 lead when he threw a pass right to a Cowboys defender in the end zone. That play swung the momentum in favor of the Cowboys.

Cousins’ play is not indicative of the salary he is seeing. He is making over $19 million this year while he is on the franchise tag, and that could be getting to him a bit. He has to prove he is worth a max contract. Perhaps he is getting jittery because of that. He is now paid like a big time player, but he is not quite performing like one.

There is no obvious solution to this problem for the Redskins. The best case scenario for them is that Cousins improves his play heading into the third game. That would make this a non-issue. Worst case, he continues to decline. Then, they have to make a decision about whether or not to turn to Colt McCoy to start some games. Said Florio’s source when asked about whether or not the frustrated players would prefer McCoy, “At least he’d play with poise.”

All in all, this problem will likely take care of itself in the upcoming weeks. I would assume that the players are frustrated because they believe Cousins cost them the game this week. They are right, but Cousins seems like the kind of player who will work to come back from it. He is a team captain after all, and he seems to be well liked by the players. This is just a classic example of pressure getting to someone. For now, this is just a situation to monitor. It will not be an issue once the team starts winning.

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