The Washington Redskins have lead the league in drama over the past
couple weeks, and head coach Mike Shanahan will continue the trend with more with a very controversial quarterback move.
According to ESPN:
Kirk Cousins will replace Robert Griffin III at quarterback Sunday when the Washington Redskins face the Atlanta Falcons.
Griffin told reporters Wednesday that Mike Shanahan has informed him that he will be shut down for the remainder of the season as the coach "wanted to make sure I got to the offseason free from injury."
Griffin said he wouldn't let the benching "break my spirit" and he vowed to be supportive of Cousins.
"I promise y'all I'll be there for him every step of the way," he said.
Cousins, meanwhile, said that although he was starting now, he still considered the Redskins as Griffin's team.
"Robert is the franchise quarterback here.This is his team," he said. "My job is to help this team get a win."
Cousins took the first-team snaps and Grossman worked with the No. 2 offense in the portion of Wednesday's practice open to the media.
Shanahan raised the possibility Monday of benching Griffin for the last three regular-season games, citing 24 sacks in the past five games and the desire to keep him healthy for the offseason. Griffin's offseason work prior to this season was compromised by the major knee injury he suffered in the team's playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January.
A team source on Tuesday said owner Dan Snyder would not intervene if Shanahan decided to make a switch at quarterback.
Cousins was the second quarterback the Redskins took in the 2012 draft, going to Washington in the fourth round after the team took Griffin No. 2 overall. He appeared in three games last season, leading the Redskins to a victory over the Baltimore Ravens after Griffin left with an injury and starting the next week against the Cleveland Browns, another victory. He finished the season with 466 yards on 33-of-48 passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Cousins has appeared in two games this season, including a mop-up role last Sunday in a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Shanahan, whose job security has been a topic of widespread scrutiny, said Monday he spoke with Snyder that morning and that if he switched quarterbacks, he'd discuss it first with the owner.
As for Shanahan's future with the Redskins, team sources said Tuesday that everything is "status quo." His status for next season entering last weekend was questionable. It was downgraded to doubtful after an ESPN.com report Sunday detailing his displeasure over the nature of the Griffin-Snyder relationship.
Washington (3-10) was trounced 45-10 by the Chiefs later Sunday, a loss that followed a number of stories in recent weeks discussing the nature of Shanahan's relationship with Griffin as well as that between the second-year quarterback and the coach's son, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan has one year and $7 million left on his contract. The Redskins are 24-37 under Shanahan and clinched their third double-digit loss season in his four years as coach.
I'm telling you now, Shanny is trying to force the front office to fire him.
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