The Las Vegas Raiders had a relatively simple solution for their quarterback situation. With Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza joining the roster in the offseason, the team decided to give the veteran some rub before throwing the rookie to the wolves.
However, a tussle between Cousins and superstar defender Maxx Crosby recently made headlines. But for one Denver Broncos legend, the idea of the four-time Pro Bowler getting in an altercation is hilariously unimaginable.
3-Time Super Bowl Champion Doesn’t Buy Kirk Cousins as a Fighter
With over a decade’s worth of experience in the NFL, Cousins is fitting in perfectly as the veteran in Vegas’ QB room. As a result, it made his fight with Crosby during training camp all the more puzzling.
Allegedly, the five-time Pro Bowler hit his throwing arm on two separate occasions. An incensed Cousins then marched up to the superstar edge rusher and grabbed his jersey with some choice words before teammates separated the pair.
New head coach Klint Kubiak chose to suspend both players from the next day of training camp as disciplinary action for the scuffle. However, for Mark Schlereth, a legendary offensive lineman who won three Super Bowls during his career, the situation bordered on unbelievable.
Making an appearance on the “Stinkin’ Truth” podcast, the two-time Pro Bowler explained, “I love Kirk. But he’s such a nerd, and I just can’t imagine him talking smack, right?” However, even accepting the scuffle, Schlereth believed there could be some unforeseen repercussions for Kubiak’s decision.
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“But there is part of you now that, like, okay, is this going to be the standard now if somebody else gets in a scuffle? You got to kick them out the following day, out of practice? And then what kind of professionals do you have on your team? Are we going to stage a fight so we don’t have to practice tomorrow?”
But he did throw out a possible direction that may have directed Kubiak’s choice. A member of the Broncos’ 50th Anniversary Team, he believed the former offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks could have used this as an excuse to give Mendoza more training camp reps.
“Maybe this is Klint playing chess while we’re thinking in checkers terms. Maybe he’s looking at it like, ‘Hey man, there is going to come a time where what if Kirk Cousins gets injured and all of a sudden Mendoza, you’ve got to get thrown in there in Week 3, and you’ve got to be ready to go in there.'”
As a result, some additional training-camp reps could work well in the rookie’s favor. However, after an offseason that had a ton of optimism and momentum behind it, even with the botched Crosby trade, the scuffle has somewhat distracted from the excitement surrounding this team.
It will be interesting to see if Cousins and Crosby can put this behind them and be on the same page going forward.
