Kirk Cousins surprised he's in D.C.

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Kirk Cousins was surprised to be drafted by the Washington Redskins after the team had picked quarterback Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 overall pick. But Cousins said Monday that he's competing with RG3, not against the Heisman Trophy winner.

"I think it's very important that for Robert, myself, for the Redskins as a whole that we handle this thing the right way," Cousins said Monday in an interview with "The Dan Patrick Show."

"I was involved in a couple of quarterback competitions in college so this isn't my first time being around the situation like this. I think the important thing to note is that we're not competing against one another, we're competing with one another, and we're competing with one another to help the Redskins win football games. Who we're really competing against are the Giants and the Eagles and the Cowboys and the rest of the NFL. That's where our focus should be as far as competing."

The Redskins picked Griffin with the No. 2 overall pick to be their franchise quarterback and already had re-signed veteran Rex Grossman to back him up. But Washington surprised many, including Cousins, when it selected the former Michigan State quarterback in the fourth round.

"I'll be the first one to say it was a surprising pick to me, as well," Cousins said in the radio interview. "But Coach (Mike) Shanahan was in San Francisco with Joe Montana and Steve Young, so he's not new to this and I know he's gonna do all he can to make it work. My job is to help the Redskins win football games, however that may be. I'm going to keep an open mind.

"I know my opportunity will come sooner or later and the way the NFL works, your window of opportunity is very small, but when you get that opportunity you have to make the most of it. I know mine's gonna come at some point, I just gotta be ready when it does."

Washington was the first team to select two quarterbacks in the first four rounds since Green Bay in 1989. The last time the Redskins chose a quarterback in the top 10 before Griffin was in 1994 when they took Heath Shuler. He eventually was beaten out by Gus Frerotte, whom the Redskins took in the seventh round.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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