In case you need a distraction from Wednesday’s headlines of Commanders owner Daniel Snyder potentially putting the team up for sale, Kirk Cousins returns to Washington this weekend.
It’s the first time Cousins has returned to Washington since he departed after the 2017 season. In six seasons with Washington, Cousins set multiple franchise records in passing. However, after two franchise tags, Cousins had no interest in returning despite his public declarations of wanting to remain.
Cousins left behind a mixed legacy in Washington. Some fans never embraced Cousins due to their allegiance to Robert Griffin III. The two were selected in the same draft and Cousins permanently replaced Griffin as the starting quarterback ahead of the 2015 season.
Other fans appreciated Cousins, realizing he’s the best quarterback the franchise has had in years — and still hasn’t been able to replace.
How does Cousins view coming back to Washington for the first time?
“I spent six years there,” Cousins said. “[I] have a lot of great memories. I think very highly of a lot of the people that I worked with there – coaches and players and teammates. So, it’ll bring back a lot of those memories when I go back.”
How does he think the fans will embrace his return?
“No idea,” he answered. “I know that you gave me a good opportunity to talk about those fans in Washington. I think so highly of them as well. I had a great experience with them. I remember from my very first training camp… I’ve really had the opportunity to play for two teams in this league that have a great deal of history and have had a great deal of success and that travel well when you’re on the road. Not every team has that. So, I’ve been blessed to play for those two teams, and it was very positive experience.”
Cousins was then asked why it didn’t work out in Washington.
“I would say there’s probably a combination of reasons,” Cousins said. “I think anytime you go .500, it’s a league that you want to win, and you got to win, and it’s what have you done lately? And you’re only as good as your last play. So, I think when you’re .500, it’s hard to have that staying power in really any place.”
That’s partially true. What Cousins doesn’t say is he always held a chip on his shoulder against owner Daniel Snyder and GM Bruce Allen. Cousins always felt second-fiddle to Griffin even when it became clear he was the better player.
No one blamed Cousins for wanting to leave. Fans felt Cousins was a bit phony because he’d continuously say he wanted to remain in Washington. However, he’d reference God when discussing his long-term future with Washington.
Enough time has passed; there should be little bitterness on either side. A lot of the faces Cousins knew in Washington are gone. Only three players, Jonathan Allen, Kendall Fuller and Tress Way played with Cousins. On the coaching staff, Randy Jordan and Ryan Kerrigan were in town when Cousins played for Washington, with Kerrigan being a teammate for all six of his seasons with Washington.
Cousins was asked if the contract was why he didn’t remain in Washington.
“You know, I’m not going to get into all that,” Cousins said. “It’s something that was well-documented when we went through it, but I just had the best memories of my time there, really. I feel very positively about every experience.”
Finally, what was his best memory with Washington?
“I think, winning the division in 2015 at Philly the day after Christmas,” Cousins said. “We came back from the game, pulled into the facility at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., the bus couldn’t move because it was just packed with fans. I’ll never forget that. The bus finally gets in the gate, drops us off at our cars and we’ve got to now go back out in our cars. My wife came to pick me up. So, I hop in the car with my wife, and she and I both will never forget that – trying to leave the practice facility and being unable to do it because people were just all over our cars, knocking on the window and it was just tremendous. That’s really what it’s all about. Being able to put the fans in a position to be that excited about your football team. Because of our start, we’re in that similar position to put people in a place where that can maybe happen. So, we want to work to try to create that.”
Cousins wasn’t going to bite on Snyder potentially selling the team.
“I haven’t even heard that, but I really don’t,” he said. “That’s kind of over my head, out of my league.”
After having seen what has gone on since he left, Cousins likely feels even better about his decision to depart.
Cousins and the Vikings [6-1] bring a five-game winning streak to Washington on Sunday. The Commanders have won three in a row.
