Kirk Cousins: Breaking Down Washington Redskins QB's Value in Fantasy Playoffs

Kirk Cousins is a man who wears many hats.

Before Sunday, he was just a rookie QB drafted out of Michigan State to back up Robert Griffin III on the Washington Redskins.

After RGIII went down in the middle of a game-tying drive against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, Cousins came on the field to throw the touchdown and complete the QB-keeper draw play for a two-point conversion that forced overtime.

When Washington was able to kick the game-winning field goal, Cousins entered Redskins lore and will be remembered as the man who came in and kept the team’s playoff dreams alive in 2012.

He’s now on the radar of many fantasy football players and might just be a worthy waiver-wire addition for desperate owners this postseason.

That all depends on RGIII’s status for Week 15’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Jones at the Washington Post found that the stellar signal-caller’s injury isn’t extremely serious and is just a sprained knee, according to the MRI. The prognosis there is much better when compared to a torn ACL or any other potentially disastrous, long-term injury.

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Redskins announce Griffin knee injury is a knee sprain MRI showed.

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 10, 2012"

ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that coach Mike Shanahan is calling his QB “day-to-day” with the Grade 1 lateral collateral ligament sprain:

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Mike Shanahan said @rgiii has a Grade 1 sprain to his lateral collateral ligament that makes him "day to day."

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 10, 2012"

With that said, it may be wise for ambitious fantasy owners to put in a claim for RGIII’s backup.

For those who use Griffin III as a starting QB, it’s imperative that you immediately go and drop a claim in for Cousins, as you may have to resort to the former Michigan State star on Sunday.

Another option for those in the fantasy playoffs is to scoop Cousins up as either insurance for your starter or, perhaps more nefariously, to take him away from the RGIII owner you could be playing or might meet up with sometime between now and the championship.

If for some reason Griffin isn’t able to play on Sunday or gets hurt again in the future, you would have the No. 1 backup plan in Cousins on your roster—a player with the potential to go off for big points in this rejuvenated Redskins offense.

With no real great waiver targets available on the wire this late in the season, it’s certainly worth it for most owners to take a chance on Cousins and play it by ear over the next few days.