ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- When the Washington Redskins navigated the difficult process of replacing Robert Griffin III with Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback a year ago, Matt Cavanaugh was the man in the middle of it.
Griffin, Cousins and veteran Colt McCoy all wanted to start. Only one could, so Cavanaugh had heart-to-heart conversations about the situation.
Cousins threw for 4,166 yards and 26 touchdowns and led the Redskins to the NFC East title. Afterward, McCoy called Cavanaugh the team MVP for his stability and oversight.
''His ability to be the voice in our room, to take away the distractions, the things that went on and all that and for him to help Kirk the way that he did and silence a lot of things that could've got out or went wrong, Cav did a great job,'' McCoy said.