Kirk Cousins could be the new Matt Flynn

As good news continues to pour in about Robert Griffin III's rehab, it seems likely that their star quarterback will be ready to go for week one of the regular season. It also seems likely that the team will be led through their preseason routine by Kirk Cousins.

Last year, in relief of the injured Robert Griffin, Cousins displayed the ability to lead an NFL team as a rookie, completing nearly 70% of his passes and maintaining a positive touchdown to interception ratio. With his services locked up for the next three years, it seems possible that Kirk Cousins could be the new Matt Flynn in the NFL.

Not familiar with Matt Flynn? Let me explain. Flynn spent his first four years in Green Bay as a backup quarterback with the "starter" label already being slapped on for when his contract would inevitably come to an end. The Packers maintained that Flynn leaving at the conclusion of his contract wasn't a given, but everyone knew that Flynn's market value was far higher than the Packers would be willing to pay a backup. So, Flynn signed with the Seahawks, but he was beaten for the starting job by Russell Wilson. Since the Seahawks no longer needed Flynn as a starter, they shipped him to Oakland, where he'll almost certainly be the starting quarterback this season.

It's still too early to make an blanket declarations. After all, Kirk Cousins has been in the NFL just one season, but he's already starting to look like the type of hard working backup that could make his way to a quarterback needy team in the future. If that turns out to be the case, he'll suddenly be the most recent example of backups becoming starters.

To be frank, we don't know how Matt Flynn will work out as a starting quarterback. His position with the Raiders is one that will push his abilities. When he showed flashes of excellence with the Packers, he was working with one of the best offensive teams in the league. The Raider, however, are nowhere near the level of the Packers on offense.

For now, Kirk Cousins will continue to be ready week in and week out. With a quarterback that takes a lot of risks, you can never tell when the backup will need to fill the role of the starter. Fortunately for the Redskins, Cousins is a hard worker, and he'll be ready at a moments notice.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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