WHEN KIRK COUSINS got word this week that Washington had agreed to acquire quarterback Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs, I like to imagine him cycling through a litany of emotions in a matter of minutes: shock, disappointment, confusion, perhaps even a hint of betrayal. Cousins loathes uncertainty. He craves an established routine, and is obsessive about chasing it. That his future was suddenly in flux had to feel disarming.
I suspect, though, that what ultimately emerged was some sense of relief.
It has been clear for several seasons that Washington and Cousins had a marriage that needed to dissolve.