Washington Redskins: Quarterbacks being scouted at 2018 Senior Bowl

The Washington Redskins are paying specific attention to the quarterback position at the Senior Bowl and that should come as no surprise.

The 2018 Senior Bowl takes place on Saturday afternoon, but for NFL teams, the work is already done. The Washington Redskins were present in Mobile, AL this week for the week of practice and spent a good portion of their time scouting and interviewing several of the quarterbacks in attendance. With quarterback Kirk Cousins a free agent, this should come as no surprise.

The last two seasons, Washington looked at quarterbacks, but not this intently. The expectation was the team would eventually get something done with Cousins. Now, it appears both sides are ready to move on and head coach Jay Gruden wanted to get a firsthand look at some of the talented passers in Mobile this week.

Players like Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Mason Rudolph and Mike White of Western Kentucky were some of passers Washington checked out.

Rudolph, for one, spoke about meeting with the Redskins and expressed his desire to end up in the nation’s capital. Rudolph has everything you want in an NFL quarterback, however, there are concerns about the offense he played in at Oklahoma State. He wasn’t able to practice this week due to an injury and that was disappointing news to teams eager to see him in practice.

White is another quarterback who met with the Redskins. After beginning his career at South Florida, White transferred to Western Kentucky where he played the last two years of his college career. He played one year in a spread offense before playing in a different offense his senior season. He excelled both years. White has plenty of tools and he has scouts excited, especially those without a top-10 pick as most feel he will be picked anywhere from the second to fourth round.

Allen, from Wyoming, is the draft’s most polarizing player. The Redskins already have one polarizing passer on the roster — Cousins — but that could be ending soon. Allen has the tools of a player who should go No. 1 overall. However, his accuracy is a major concern. As was his college production. Many scouts believe Allen should’ve still dominated in college despite a less-than-stellar supporting cast. He will go high in the draft, perhaps too high for the Redskins.

Some of the biggest hype in January surrounds Mayfield and the Redskins. Mel Kiper of ESPN projected Mayfield to Washington in his first mock draft, while others have also heard the team is fascinated with the Heisman winner.

Mayfield will likely be gone before the Redskins pick at No. 13. But, if the interest is real, trading up is a realistic scenario. While Washington fans cringe thinking of trading up for another quarterback, the package to move up to get Mayfield will not nearly be as costly as it was in 2012 when the Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III.

Next: Grading each 2017 first-round pick after rookie year

Senior Bowl week is almost over and it’s clear the Washington Redskins are on the hunt for a quarterback. Does this mean the end of Cousins? Or is the team just doing its due diligence? This will be an interesting story to follow through April.