Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
Last season there was a Monday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. The game was not supposed to be competitive at all; Dallas was supposed to crush Washington. Then, something strange happened. The Redskins’ third string quarterback, Colt McCoy, led them to a surprising win. Sure, McCoy threw two picks and no TDs, but he also was 25/30 throwing the football, and he was really what gave the team the ability to win that game. It was the beginning of a sort of renaissance for McCoy.
McCoy started the next game against the Indianapolis Colts, and played extremely well. He was 31/47 for 392 yards and 3 TDs, and he displayed some ability to stretch the field which hadn’t been a part of his game in the past. McCoy didn’t play nearly as well in the next two games, but there is no doubt that last season was McCoy’s best since he came to the NFL out of Texas.
Despite the success McCoy had last season, he is still just a solid backup quarterback at best. He certainly isn’t going to take Robert Griffin III’s job, but he may take Kirk Cousins’. Cousins and McCoy are battling for the backup quarterback job, when it’s all said and done I think McCoy will win that battle. He was very accurate last season, and though he did struggle with interceptions on the throws he missed, he could easily solve that problem.
Early on, that hasn’t been the case. McCoy has struggled in OTAs, specifically with interceptions, and that could end up seriously hurting him. If he can’t stop throwing picks, then he’ll lose to Cousins and will have trouble making the roster. If he can stop, then he could be a great backup, and even a solid starter for some teams. Still, the big key is beating out Cousins, who has looked better than him this offseason.
One potential thing that could benefit McCoy is that Cousins could possibly be traded. Cousins has some potential, and he could be valued by other teams. If the competition ends up being close, Jay Gruden may just trade Cousins for an extra draft choice and roll with McCoy as the backup. I think that this move would likely happen during the preseason, as that is often when certain teams are desperate for quarterbacks.
McCoy is currently in a precarious spot. The Redskins could let him go, keep him, or keep him and Cousins. However, one thing is certain. If Colt McCoy can stop staring down his receivers and cut down on his interceptions, then he will win the Redskins’ backup quarterback job.
Jacob Camenker is a Buffalo Bills Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can like him on Facebook here, follow him on Twitter @jacobyhorse, or add him to your network on Google.
