While on a conference call with Bay Area reporters on Wednesday, Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said that the original goal upon being drafted was for him to develop and then have value as a tradable player. After all, Washington had just spent the second overall selection on quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was seen as the team's future at the position.
Griffin is not on an NFL roster and Cousins is Washington's starting quarterback. In order to keep Cousins in Washington, the franchise tag has been placed on him two years in a row. Obviously, Cousins would prefer some stability and guarantees when it comes to a contract rather than continuously playing on one-year deals. He may get that chance in 2018 when he is scheduled to become a free agent ... unless he signs a new deal with Washington or is franchised (at an enormous cost) yet again.
Below are some of the topics that Cousins touched upon during Wednesday's conference call.
Reuben Foster
For the San Francisco 49ers, the hope is that rookie linebacker Reuben Foster, along with safety Eric Reid, will be able to return to practice on Wednesday. Foster has been recovering from a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has made no guarantees about Foster's availability when they kick off against Washington on Sunday.
"We're very impressed with [Foster's] ability," Cousins said. "He just flashes on tape. He looks like a player that will diagnose quickly, play fast, he'll strike you. Just seems to be the total package at linebacker – a player with a lot of potential and a bright future. We expect him to be a handful on Sunday."
Kyle Shanahan
"I was always really impressed with what Kyle could do kind of creating an offense to help Robert [Griffin III] be successful and do what he had done well prior to coming to Washington with the zone-read and then marrying the zone-read with our play-action passes," Cousins said. "Robert was Rookie of the Year that year, my rookie year, and was a Pro Bowler so I thought the play calling and the play design was very creative and was really innovative and a great way to help a rookie quarterback transition into the NFL with so much being thrown at him.
"I thought that was what was most impressive about what Kyle did was the way he handled that first year in what was an evolving system and then Kyle's always been good with play-action passes and movements, keepers. He really just tries to stay one step ahead and have a really good plan. He's a guy who doesn't just call plays to call plays. He doesn't just spin a Rolodex and pull a play out. He designs those plays for a reason and he really thinks it through and when he calls the play during a game, it's very intentional and there's a philosophy behind it. I think his results speak for themselves."
Future is not a distraction
Cousins was asked if it was a distraction always being asked about his future beyond the 2017 season.
"Well, people haven't really kept asking me," Cousins said. "I think those questions kind of died down a while back."
The quarterback insists his focus is on this season and so many players are on one-year contracts in the NFL. Cousins said nobody really knows where they will be the next year and that's just the way the NFL works.
"The key is to play football really well from now until then so when we get to that point, I'll have options and there will be teams that will be interested," Cousins continued. "But if I don't do my part between now and then, it won't matter. My focus has to be right now on the 49ers and then go week to week from there. And if I do my part, then I'll be in a good position this winter to hopefully have some options. Until we get there, I think it's silly to try to think ahead when there's so much between now and then that will determine where I'm sitting at that point."
Cousins said that he hopes to be in a position where Washington doesn't want him to leave.
Jim Tomsula
"Players love him and he has a great demeanor, not only on the practice field but just throughout the day and throughout the building and in meetings," Cousins said of Washington's defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, who was the head coach of the 49ers in 2015. "I think guys play hard for him. They do what he says. They trust him to help them be successful. I think he's just good for our team, for our chemistry, for our locker room, for morale. I think it was a great hire by Coach Gruden, a great addition to the team and we're thrilled to have him."