For the Washington Redskins, will things get worse before they get better?

There is always that indescribable lingering hope that next year will be better. But right now, everything about the Washington Redskins’ situation screams ‘powder keg’.

The potential energy is mounting for another collapse and reset.

The Washington Redskins haven’t had overwhelming success over the last three years. In 2015, they went 9-7 and won the NFC East, which was considerably weaker at that point. Easy enough.

In 2016, they went 8-7-1, losing the game that would have sent them to the playoffs. A disappointing end, but despite that, they were competitive, and they moved the football well. In 2017, injuries ravaged a promising defense and an already weakened offense, and the team stumbled to a record of 7-9.

The growing young roster suggests a bright future approaching, but the looming contract situation of Kirk Cousins complicates things a great deal. In fact, one could be so bold to say that the direction of the franchise is contingent on what happens with Kirk Cousins.

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That’s not an overstatement.

Cousins has at least provided the team with a semblance of stability, even when being tagged for consecutive years. If he leaves, all that goes out the window. The team can try and sign a stopgap in free agency for less money, but the term ‘stopgap’ says it all; that quarterback wouldn’t be here for long.

Without competence at quarterback, the team will almost certainly have a down year in 2018. The defense is close, but there are serious doubts about whether Bruce Allen can put together the rest of the pieces in a timely manner. After all, it’s taken him eight years to get them here. Not far from where they started.

With another losing year in 2018, regardless of the circumstances, Jay Gruden will be out. The necessity of a scapegoat in Dan Snyder’s eyes, as well as Bruce Allen’s tendency to save his own skin, demands such an action.

This destructive sequence will leave the Washington Redskins without a coach, without a franchise quarterback, and without continuity. The only two constants will be those that have been constant for almost a decade: Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder.

Next: Washington Redskins: Value rankings of 2018 NFL Draft QBs

The Washington Redskins have had multiple mini-resets over the last two decades, far more than any successfully run team should have. But Bruce Allen has the tendency to tear apart the house when one screw comes loose.

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