Do Colt McCoy or Kirk Cousins have what it takes to start?

By Brad Gagnon

Robert Griffin III was inexplicably named the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback like four months ago.  That doesn’t mean much, because veteran backups Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins have plenty of time to outplay the former No. 2 overall pick.

And apparently they’re hungry.

“Both of them are making their case known, both of them, like I said before, have had a taste of a starting quarterback job in the NFL and they both want it back real bad,” head coach Jay Gruden said recently, per Pro Football Talk. “They’re doing an excellent job of competing every day. It’s killing them on the inside, I know, that they’re competing for the backup job right now, but they are doing an excellent job and you can see them all progressing at a good rate.”

But can McCoy and/or Cousins do enough to leapfrog RGIII on the depth chart?

Instead of looking at Griffin, who is clearly flawed and has injury issues but undoubtedly has more talent in his pinky finger than the other two pivots combined, let’s instead look at whether either of those backups has the ability to supplant the fading franchise leader.

There’s a reason McCoy couldn’t cut it in Cleveland or San Francisco

The 27-year-old did some big things at Texas but he was absolutely terrible as a rookie with the Browns and showed virtually no improvement in his second season. He threw just 18 passes in 2012 and 2013, showed glimpses in relief duty during his first year with Washington but ultimately crapped the bed with an ugly two-interception performance in a shutout loss to the Rams.

Thanks to two shockingly strong performances against the Titans and Colts, McCoy is certainly coming off his best season of his career, but new quarterbacks have strong starts all the time. And then opposing defenses adjust and everything hits the fan. That was the case here as the painfully inconsistent McCoy saw everything come crashing down by the time he completed his third start in burgundy.

The guy is a career backup and can’t be counted on as a consistent starter anywhere.

Cousins has a similar problem

The former fourth-round pick often looks like a solid quarterback, acts like a solid quarterback and sounds like a solid quarterback, but the duck rule doesn’t work here. Cousins dazzled during his first two performances in relief of Griffin last season, but then opposing defenses adjusted and he threw eight interceptions during the next four games — a stretch which included a five-turnover performance in what otherwise would have been a competitive game against the Giants.

The jury is no longer out on Cousins, who has had a sizable sample size as a backup and occasional starter. The man has thrown more career interceptions than touchdown passes, which is extremely rare in this era. It puts him in a group with dudes like Brandon Weeden, Blaine Gabbert and Geno Smith. He’s squandered several chances to jump Griffin on the depth chart. Barring a miraculous fourth-year turnaround, he’s done.

Which might mean Griffin holds onto the job, even if by default.

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