RICHMOND, Va. -- Teammates have seen his leadership emerge in various ways, from the way Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has been in meeting rooms to how he has communicated with players. What they’re not going to see is this: A guy running around on the field, barking orders at teammates. Or chastising guys if they fail to perform.
When New England practiced against Washington two summers ago, quarterback Tom Brady snapped at a player for taking too long to run to the huddle. Cousins will celebrate with players; he’ll talk to them about what happened on a play. But he’s now in his first training camp where he’s absolutely the starter and in charge.
Perhaps deeper into his career Cousins can become the sort of demanding quarterback others already are, but for now that’s not the case. It’s not as if Cousins is silent. He’s not. And numerous players said in the offseason -- on both sides of the ball -- that he has been more of a leader.
One long-time Redskins veteran said Cousins was "more assertive in the room than any quarterback I’ve been around" this offseason. That’s another part of leadership, but the reason Cousins was this way stemmed from a growing comfort level in the offense -- he helped install plays. And, this player said, Cousins expressed more of what he wanted from others.
Even tight end Vernon Davis, who signed with Washington in the spring, said he noticed Cousins' leadership.
"It stands out like a sore thumb," Davis said this offseason. "Guys are following him, too. There’s humility there, and he minimizes himself when he’s around the group, and that’s what a leader does. He minimizes himself. And he does the right thing and people see it, and he is the right man for the job."
You want a quarterback to be a leader. Despite what Jeff George once said, it’s not overrated at the position. But it has to be real. If a quarterback is yelling at guys in practice, but not handling business elsewhere, it will go over poorly. But it must be clear that the guy is in charge, something veterans made clear to Cousins last season.
"I don’t think it’s very necessary," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said of being a vocal leader. "I think leadership comes in a lot of different ways. Kirk will find his way, and he will choose the best leader that he sees fit for this offense, for this football team. I think the players respect him. No. 1, the players have to respect you and I know they do that, so that’s half the battle right there. Now your performance has to back up your play, and I think he will be fine. He doesn’t have to run around and yell and be a vocal guy. We have coaches that teach the offense and correct people. As long as he does his job and continues to work and get better in the classroom like he will, he will be fine."
Ultimately, production matters. Players will follow a guy if they believe in him. Someone can be as vocal as they want, but if it’s late in the game and they need a touchdown, what they want is someone they trust. Last season, they trusted Cousins.
Still, if Cousins struggles this season, then his leadership will suffer. If he plays well, it will continue to build. If he changes his work habits, it will suffer. Nobody who knows Cousins would expect his work ethic to change.
Left tackle Trent Williams is considered one of the Redskins' best leaders and has been a captain for several years, but you rarely hear him during practice. Quarterbacks are different, of course. But the Redskins want Cousins to be himself -- and to worry about producing.
"He’s not so much a vocal leader right now; he’s still finding his own way," Gruden said of Cousins. "But he’s a leader by example, for sure. He’s the guy that everybody knows is going to do the right thing, and he’s a very unselfish player, and he’s going to try to distribute the ball equally. The more and more he gets comfortable, the more success that he has, the more of a vocal leader he can be."
As Gruden said, Cousins is playing with guys who have been in the same system for multiple years. There will be eight starters in their third year in Gruden’s offense. So Gruden wants Cousins to focus on himself and let those around him continue to make plays.
"He wants to make sure he has total, total command of the offense, exactly where everybody’s going to be until he can really branch out and tell people what to do. I think he has total faith in the veteran receivers," Gruden said. "It's just about taking the reps, getting better every day and doing the right things. And Kirk is always going to do that."