Redskins need to get rid of front office drama

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Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins rolls out for to pass during a regular season game against the Cleveland Browns in October of 2016. Cousins signed a franchise tag for the second straight season.

Jackson Hook, Sports Editor

The Washington Redskins are the Kardashians of the National Football League at the moment. The ‘Skins starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, has asked for a trade after not obtaining a long term deal, they recently fired general manager Scot McCloughan in a fashion that was not professional whatsoever and they have lost two of their main receivers in free agency.

Cousins came out after the news of his “demanding a trade” was released and made a statement saying that he did not demand anything. He did however ask what the deal was with his contract. Cousins ended up with an impressive franchise tag of nearly $24 million, but it still makes me question Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s faith in his quarterback. This is the second year in a row that Cousins has been franchised. If you want someone to be with your team for a long time, you sign them to a long term deal. There is no question Cousins deserves a long term contract. He surpassed his career best in passing yards with 4,917 as well as throwing for 25 touchdowns. His QBR was just short of 100 at 97.2, which is above average for NFL quarterbacks. He has a bright future with the ‘Skins as long as he doesn’t have to keep wondering whether the team believes in his ability to bring them success.

The Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan was fired recently and in a way that that left sports analyst saying “why?”. It was well known that McCloughan had an issue with alcohol before he came to Washington two years ago. He was fired from the front-office for the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. The Redskins proceeded to fire him this March, claiming that he had been drunk while on the job on multiple occasions in the locker room. An anonymous official said that “this has been a disaster for 18 months.” When the Redskins first fired McCloughan, they wished him “well in his future endeavors. The team will have no further comment on his departure.” (Washington Post). This is childish of the organization. What I take from this is that Washington was going to wait until McCloughan told the media why he was fired, which he obviously wouldn’t want to do, which forced the Redskins to reveal it later and look like jerks. If McCloughan really was a disaster for 18 months, why didn’t he get any help? Why didn’t anyone reach out? Why did the organization put up with it for that long? There is either something missing from this story or the Washington staff is officially the worst in the league.

Washington lost starting wide receivers DeSean Jackson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pierre Garçon to the San Francisco 49ers via free agency. Garçon and Jackson combined for the majority of the team’s receptions last season and will be missed. The Redskins regained some talent in 6’4”, 230 pound Terrelle Pryor. Pryor previously played for the Cleveland Browns and was arguably their best asset. However, I am still sceptical about Pryor because he is so young. Hopefully Pryor and Josh Doctson will combine to be replace the duo that Jackson and Garçon were. They will also be accompanied by the quick Jamison Crowder as well as tight end Jordan Reed.

Maybe the Redskins will use the rest of their free agency money and draft picks to rebuild the defense that is never present. Maybe they won’t. This is one of the first times I will actually admit the Redskins’ upcoming season is not looking very promising. I am really hoping they prove me wrong.