The Philadelphia Eagles take on the division rival Washington Redskins this upcoming Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX. The Redskins starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, was actually almost an Eagle, believe it or not. Let’s rewind to the 2012 NFL draft.
The Eagles went into the 2012 draft in hopes of adding a quarterback to groom behind starter, Michael Vick, in hopes of eventually being his replacement. The team moved on from 2007 second-round pick, Kevin Kolb, sending the quarterback to the Arizona Cardinals for cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and a 2012 second-round pick. Trading Kolb left the Eagles bare at quarterback, as Vince Young was signed for the 2011 season, but the team ultimately opted against bringing the former first-rounder back for the 2012 season.
The Eagles worked out Ryan Tannehill, Nick Foles, and Cousins prior to the 2012 draft. They surely had one of those quarterbacks in mind come draft day, as they became very acclimated with the three of them.
Tannehill went in the first-round to the Miami Dolphins right off the bat and the Eagles opted to trade up for stud defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. The Eagles went into the second-round with two picks. Still the team felt they could wait to address the quarterback position, even with Wisconsin quarterback, Russell Wilson, on the board for both of those quicks, who was on top of the team’s draft board at quarterback. The Eagles drafted linebacker, Mychal Kendricks, and defensive end, Vinny Curry, with both of their second-round selections.
Wilson then was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third-round with their 75th overall pick, which was 13 spots ahead of when the Eagles picked again. With Wilson off the board, the Eagles’ draft room was torn in half.
When it came time to pick for the Eagles, the team’s head coach at the time, Andy Reid, along with his coaching staff differed in opinion on who to select than their general manager Howie Roseman. Roseman and the team’s scouting department was all in on Cousins, while Reid and his coaching staff, which current Eagles head coach, Doug Pederson, was on at the time, where all in on Foles.
Reid’s longevity with the organization ultimately was awarded final say on the selection and the Eagles opted to select Foles with their 88th overall selection.
Foles’ rookie season with Reid was his lone season under the head coach who pushed to have the quarterback. Foles finished the 2012 season replacing the injured Vick and went on to have a 1-5 record with six passing touchdowns to five interceptions for a 79.1 passer rating. He became the Eagles starting quarterback in 2013, again replacing Vick due to injury, and had his historic 27 touchdown to two interception season. Foles is now back with Reid as the Kansas City Chiefs No. 2 quarterback, so Reid found a way to get back the quarterback he coveted.
Cousins, on the other hand, stole the starting quarterback job from the Redskins No. 2 overall pick in that 2012 draft, which was Robert Griffin III. Washington’s head coach, Jay Gruden, preferred Cousins and opted to roll with him as his full-time starting quarterback, which he has been ever since.
Cousins is the better quarterback of the two, but still has a lot to prove in the NFL, especially to his own organization as he’s playing on the team’s franchise tag. Two teams in the NFC East were affected by the 2012 draft in terms of finding their starting quarterback. The Eagles failed to, while so far the Redskins did. Howie wanted Cousins, but was overruled.
