When asked by NFL Media last week if he ever thought about benching Kirk Cousins, Redskins coach Jay Gruden was adamant about saying no. As he put it, the team needed to play better around Cousins.
According to NFL Media's Albert Breer, Gruden has not wavered in his thought process since.
Breer noted that the team, 1-2, is hoping that Cousins will learn from riding out bad starts like he did a week ago against the Giants. The team also hopes that by allowing him to do this, he'll grow more confident knowing that the hook isn't coming quickly.
"We're 1-2 right now, but we're hoping it pays dividends," Jay Gruden said. "We've got all the confidence in the world in him. As an organization, we all came to the same conclusion. It's not like the room was split -- This wanted him, he wanted him, he wanted him. Collectively, it was unanimous. We're all sticking by the plan and we're showing Kirk that we have confidence in him. And hopefully it pays off and he'll get better every game."
Oddly enough, this was never the feeling Gruden had in regards to Robert Griffin III, who remains an organizational window dressing.
For the immediate future, it seems like he will stay that way. It's all about Kirk Cousins.