Don’t count Kirk Cousins among those surprised that the Redskins added Pat White to their quarterback depth chart.
During an interview with ESPN 980 on Wednesday, Cousins explained why White’s arrival to a depth chart that also includes Rex Grossman as a backup to Robert Griffin III came without any raised eyebrows. It comes down to the need to work on the read-option aspects of the offense this offseason before Griffin’s knee has healed to the point that he’ll be able to take part in workouts.
“I felt like with Robert’s health where it is right now, to be able to have a guy who can do some of the thing Robert does athletically would be important, especially in this offseason time when you’re trying to stay sharp and develop your base playbook and improve your base playbook. While I believe can to some degree run those kind of things, the zone-read stuff is gonna be much better with a Pat White-type athlete in there who’s closer to Robert’s skill set,” Cousins said, via the Washington Post. “I think that’s a no-brainer to have a guy like that in at least for OTAs, if not longer.”
It’s hard to imagine White’s going to be any kind of short-term threat to Cousins’ status as the team’s No. 2 behind Griffin, so there’s no reason for Cousins to be anything but magnanimous about White’s return to the league. And, should that change, Cousins is likely to have other teams interested in his services as a potential starter which would probably wind up being his goal anyway.