Cousins elaborates on Redskins being RG3’s team

JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Kirk Cousins is currently the Washington Redskins quarterback. And he continues to say that the Redskins are Robert Griffin III’s team.

Asked Tuesday to elaborate, he conceded there could be a perception problem with those two facts.

In other words, it’s complicated.

“It is a tough dynamic to fully answer,” Cousins said. “I think that as a quarterback, if there is any doubt in the other 10 guys in the huddle looking at me that ‘Can this guy get it done for us? Can he move the ball?’ then I have already failed.

“So when I say that this is Robert’s team, I do not mean that I can’t step in and have an authority and make sure we move the football. But I won’t change my statement that this is Robert’s team. I still stand by that.”

Cousins has the starting job for at least five more weeks while Griffin recovers from a dislocated left ankle. Cousins was the sharper quarterback in preseason and has played well since Griffin was hurt, throwing five touchdown passes with one interception and a 105.8 rating.

But Griffin was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award and is considered the face of the franchise. It’s far too early for Cousins to stake out ground for a true QB competition.

“I think that he was drafted high for a reason,” Cousins said. “He’s had success here, he’s done a lot of good things, and he has done nothing to have that be any different. So this is his team, and it’s my job as a backup on this team to hopefully, when he comes back, give him a team with a good record and put him in a good spot to have success down the stretch. By no means does that say that I can’t go in there as a backup and hopefully get the job done.”

Griffin was still on crutches as he walked through the locker room Tuesday, but he has had his hard cast removed and was in a walking boot.

Coach Jay Gruden has mostly avoided Cousins-vs.-Griffin scenarios, saying he’ll worry about it when the two are healthy.

“Crazy things have happened in the NFL,” Gruden said. “I am not going to discount anybody or anything. I am not going to try and pull out a crystal ball and say what is going to happen tomorrow or next week. I know the six weeks we are going to concentrate on Kirk as a quarterback, we feel very strongly that he can get the job done. Whatever happens after that, I will deal with then. Right now let’s just make this about Kirk and get him ready to go.”

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AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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