Feb. 16, 2026, 6:20 a.m. ET

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden always said that the coach can’t fool the locker room, so the decision to start Kirk Cousins in the 2015 season was easy.

Cousins was a guest on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast on Friday. This is part two of a look at Cousins’ discussion with Sheehan, focusing on his days playing for the Washington Redskins.

Getting into the habit of tuning out the outside noise, Cousins remembers it was his wife, Julie, who told him the 2015 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a ‘code red’ game. Indeed, that was how Gruden had referred to it. His first season as head coach was a disaster, finishing at 4-12. Brought in to coach up Robert Griffin III to be a pocket passer, did not go well in 2014. And now, having decided to go with Cousins, the Redskins were 2-4.

“I remember fumbling to go down 24-0; they took it in for a touchdown,” expressed Cousins. “I was pulling grass from my face mask, walking back to the sideline, getting booed by the home fans, which were deserved boos.” Cousins said he remembers sitting on the bench thinking maybe he is only a backup in the NFL. He thought if he had reached his ceiling and he was only going to be a backup, then that was ok, just go play. On his next possession, Gruden called a surprise zone-read. Cousins kept it and scored from eight yards out, sparking a great comeback as the Redskins beat the Bucs 31-30 that day.

As Cousins entered the building walking toward the locker room, passing the media, he yelled to them, “You like that! You like that!”

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When asked what were some of his other favorite Redskins games, Cousins pointed to a December road win at Philly, clinching the NFC East in 2015. Cousins in that big win passed for 365 yards, four touchdowns with no interceptions. Secondly, he pointed to a home Sunday Night Football 42-24 win over the Green Bay Packers. He passed for 375 yards, three touchdowns and again, no interceptions, out-dueling Aaron Rodgers.

Cousins also mentioned the 2016 Bengals game in London. Of course, he took the high road as Cousins always does, not mentioning that Kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a short field goal in overtime, which meant the Redskins did not get the win and had to settle for a tie.

Cousins said he will always remember in 2017 how the offensive line was so “thinned out,” yet they found a way to get the job done and win in Seattle, in a surprising victory. Instead of taking credit for his late throws to beat the Seahawks, Cousins chose to tell the story of how Gruden made a subtle change to a play and spoke into Cousins’ helmet on the field. Sure enough, Josh Doctson made the catch, and they scored from the one to beat the Seahawks in Seattle.

Not shying away from it, Cousins said the hardest memory was the season finale at home against the Giants when they failed to win and make the playoffs. Cousins admits the team did not play well, and then said, “I did not play well.” Throwing an interception late, intended for Pierre Garcon, “That one still haunts me to this day…it’s plays like that, that left the door open for a lot of criticism…I got nobody to look at but myself.”

Regarding how Bruce Allen low-balled Cousins after the 2015 season, never offering him anything close to his market value? Cousins took the high road again, stating he understood if they wanted more time to assess and he was glad to go ahead and play for the franchise tag. He also clarified that they did come with a legitimate offer later in 2017, but he thought that with Sean McVay having left, and changes were in the works, he would simply finish the season and see how the season progressed and see what his market value would be.

Interestingly, Cousins thought if the Redskins had won the 2016 finale against the Giants, they would have been in the playoffs, and that reduces the chance the Rams would have waited on 31-year-old Sean McVay. “I regret losing that game; I gave Sean the chance to go interview in LA, and the rest is history.”

Finally, Cousins said he expects to be released by the Falcons and hopes to play again during the 2026 season.