Jay Gruden regrets trading Kirk Cousins after watching him ball out against the Bucs

Former Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins rebounded after injury, signing a $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. In a standout performance on Thursday night, Cousins threw for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns in an exciting overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons now hold a 3-2 record. Jay Gruden, who supported Cousins as Washington's starting quarterback in 2015, joked on Twitter about Cousins' performance and the compensation Washington got when Cousins left as a free agent in 2017.
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The Redskins decided not to give Kirk Cousins a third franchise tag, which would have been a one-year $34. 5 million deal. They let him enter free agency and acquired Alex Smith instead by trading a third-round pick and CB Kendall Fuller to the Chiefs. Jay Gruden, the former Redskins coach, now regrets this decision after seeing Cousins perform well against the Bucs.

Gruden recalled the 2018 trade and took to Twitter saying, “At least we got a 3rd round supplemental draft pick for Kirk.” As a result of the trade and the NFL clause that says, “compensatory picks are awarded to teams that lose more or better compensatory free agents than they acquire,” the Redskins for a 3 round pick in the 2019 draft.
It was about Kirk Cousins wanting clarity on his future, without dragging out negotiations for Washington. Coach Gruden urged him not to delay further, as it was costing time and money. “Coach Gruden called me the next day and communicated that my desire to draw the process out through March was going to make it tough on them,” Cousins said, as per ESPN. “They couldn’t afford to wait, so they had to make a move. They wanted to do a deal, but because I wanted to go a little longer, it put them in a tough spot. So, they made the trade. I understood that. He said, ‘I wish you all the best. We had a good run and look forward to seeing you in the future.'”
Minnesota signed Cousins to a 3-year $84 million deal in 2018, and he extended his contract with a 2-year $66 million deal in 2020 and a one-year $35 million deal in 2022 after performing well. However, after suffering an Achilles injury in 2023, Cousins had to leave the team.
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