Is Kirk Cousins too good to be a backup quarterback?

Kirk Cousins proved extremely valuable for the Washington Redskins on Sunday when he led the team to a 38-21 victory over the Cleveland Browns and into first place in the NFC East, all in his first NFL start.

The rookie quarterback, taken in the fourth round out of Michigan State, also helped rally the Redskins to a 31-28 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens the previous week after starting QB Robert Griffin III left the game with a sprained right knee.

Griffin, who is having one heck of a year himself, is likely to return to the field next week, which means Cousins will return to the bench.

It’s important to have a reliable backup at quarterback, but has Cousins become too valuable to be left holding a clipboard on Sunday afternoons?

Who knows what the Redskins might be able to get for him in a trade. Next year’s draft class is thought to be a relatively weak one at the quarterback position, so there could be a number of teams interested in a guy who has can put up the kind of numbers Cousins did against the Browns (329 yards with two touchdowns and one interception).

Then again, with a starting quarterback who runs around as much as Griffin, the Redskins might be smart to keep everything as-is for as long as possible, knowing that Cousins’ services will probably be needed on a fairly regular basis in the coming years.

It’s not a bad problem to have -- and it’s probably not one the Redskins are even thinking about at this point. Right now they are in a huge fight for a playoff spot and no doubt are ecstatic to have a guy like Cousins on their roster, even as a backup.

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