Colt McCoy still confident he can start in NFL

Colt McCoy was called on last season to lead the Redskins after Robert Griffin III fell to injury and Kirk Cousins to a case of the interceptions. 

And when, this offseason as a free agent, he had the opportunity to bolt for new pastures, he elected to stay behind another year with the franchise that took a chance on him.

McCoy told the Washington Post he has no regrets about the decision to remain with the Redskins, even though Griffin was tagged the No. 1 starter earlier this spring and on whom the focus has been this spring.

Despite his relegation to a backup role, however, he still feels he has what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

"I don't think I would be continuing to play if I didn't believe in my heart that I could start every week in this league," he told 980 ESPN Radio. "I did it in Cleveland. Unfortunately, we just had a lot of inconsistency there and I shouldered the blame for a lot of that.

"But at the same time, I can take those experiences, and I can take the things I learned when I was out in San Francisco for a year, and then I can take the starts I have under my belt last year and feel really confident moving forward."

McCoy was pretty much the only bright spot for the 4-12 Redskins last season. He entered a Week 8 matchup with the Titans, relieving Kirk Cousins to open the second half. His first play from scrimmage was a 70 yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon in what became a last-minute victory for Washington.

The following week, he engineered an overtime victory over the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in a Monday night contest with his family in attendance.

A pair of neck injuries and the return of RGIII, however, would find him on the bench again.

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said the backup quarterback competition between McCoy and Cousins is ongoing and will likely be decided sometime during training camp. Until then, McCoy says he's fully supportive of Robert Griffin III taking the helm right now.

"He [Griffin] took all the reps this spring during OTAs and minicamp, and I did my best to be the veteran guy in the room and help him out as much as I could," he said. "Not that he needs my help, but I felt like we have a good relationship."

But that won't stop him from showing coaches what he feels he's capable of.

"Now, on the flip side of that, I'm going to come into camp and compete my tail off. I want to come in and play well. I want to get better."

The only thing keeping RGIII from starting under center is injury. Naturally, that'll be something Gruden and his coaching staff will insure themselves against in the play-calling department, having said this spring they will focus more on establishing a run game behind him.

But should that injury come, the better of two options lay before this team. It's not the guy who threw four (bad) interceptions to the Giants in primetime last season. It's the guy who earned them half of their wins.

@MrJamesParks