Ceci Ferrara
January 8, 2018
Sports Writer
Sports Insider Weekly
As the teams eliminated from the playoffs begin to make moves for next year, so far the biggest question mark for the Washington Redskins remains unanswered. For the past two years, questions surrounding quarterback Kirk Cousins’ future have been nonstop. Previously, Washington has only been able to commit to back-to-back one year deals. But Coach Jay Gruden (along with everyone else) is ready for that to end–one way or another.
“I think something has to be done,” Gruden told reporters. “I personally don’t want to go through another one-year deal, and just keep going one year, one year. I think you want to have a quarterback in here that’s going to be here. And hopefully that is Kirk, and if not, we have to move on and do what we have to do as an organization.”
When asked during a recent radio interview what he would like to happen this off–season, Cousins admitted he wouldn’t mind stability. “I think eventually it’s getting settled,” the quarterback said. “I think you can only just kind of go year-to-year for so long. But I think that’s why it’s first things first. First let’s get away from the season a little bit. Then let’s gather some information as to what the rest of the league is looking like, who’s being hired, who’s being fired. And you just keep kind of stacking up days on each other, gathering information that then leads to the next decision and the next decision. So it’s hard to make March’s decision now, because there are so many dominoes that will fall between now and then to influence it.”
While the Redskins certainly have other roster questions and roles to fill, knowing who the quarterback will be is one that needs to be answered sooner rather than later. After two years, it’s time for Washington to either commit to Cousins long term or cut him loose. They won’t be able to move forward with another year of uncertainty.
Wizards
The Washington Wizards fell to potential playoff foe Milwaukee Bucks (21-17) on Saturday night. Despite John Wall dishing out 16 points and a season-high 16 assists, the Wizards were outscored 28-18 in the fourth quarter en route to the 110-103 loss. Bradley Beal led the team with 20 points, while Marcin Gortat added 17 points and seven rebounds.
“I don’t think they out-physical played us,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “I think both teams played hard and physical. They made a few more shots than we did. A couple big plays I thought we had a chance to get a stop when were up three, like I said ‘that call’. Then we had a couple plays that could have gone either way. Give them credit, they made a few more plays that we did.”
Washington (23-17) has a few days off before they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
