As it turns out, the Washington Redskins did like that. A year after a 9-7 finish and a surprise NFC East title, the team is still very much in Kirk Cousins’s hands, but the 2016 season will go a long way into showing just how much they did, in fact, like that.

Though Cousins was named Jay Gruden’s starter prior to last season, the spectre of Robert Griffin III looming to reclaim what was supposed to be his is gone. The Redskins officially moved past their costly mistake in the offseason, parting ways with the man they traded three first-round picks and a second rounder for in hopes he’d be the franchise QB they so desperately sought. With RGIII out of the picture, the opportunity is there for Cousins to grab the mantle of the team’s long-term QB, but the team isn’t so sure about him yet.

The 28-year-old Cousins will play 2016 under the franchise tag. Though there were discussions, neither the player nor the team could commit to a long-term extensions, so the season represents a calculated risk for both parties. So what now? Cousins – without the relative safety of a lengthy deal – must prove himself worthy of one, while the Redskins will see just how much Cousins’s price will go up with another good season under his belt. The Buffalo Bills decided a similar situation was a risk not worth taking and locked up Tyrod Taylor to a six-year deal after only 14 games as an NFL starter.

In his first year as a starter, Cousins was perfectly serviceable, but far from a polished product. He posted a QB rating of 101.6 (fifth in the NFL) and was the most efficient pivot in the league with 69.8 per-cent completion. Yet Cousins still struggles with decision-making, taking seemingly unneeded risks, and while he’s reined in his proclivity for picks somewhat, interceptions remain an issue going forward. How Cousins and the Redskins fare this season will be something fascinating to keep an eye on.

Cousins will have help with what could be one of the better receiving units in the NFC, headlined by Jordan Reed. Reed led the team in receptions last season with 87 and is emerging as one of the game’s elite tight ends. At 6’3 and 240 pounds, Reed uses his size to generate yardage after catches and evade tackles, leading all TEs last season by forcing 19 missed tackles. A healthy DeSean Jackson provides a true deep-ball threat, while rookie Josh Doctson (taken 22nd overall out of TCU) could quite possibly have the highest ceiling of this year’s class of receivers.

The most pressing issue on offence comes in the backfield. Veteran Alfred Morris has moved on (to the rival Dallas Cowboys), leaving sophomore pro Matt Jones as the feature back. Jones picked up a shoulder injury in preseason and is question mark for Week 1, but the bigger question mark is whether or not Jones can drop his propensity to lose the ball. In 163 carries last year, Jones lost the ball five times. Considering his workload is set to increase, Jones’s ability to keep a hold of the ball has to be better.

On defence, the biggest addition comes in the secondary in the form of Josh Norman. The Redskins swooped in after his ugly divorce with the Carolina Panthers, signing the All-Pro to a monster five-year, $75 million deal. While Norman is undoubtedly one of the top corners in the league, it’s important that the team tempers expectations. The 28-year-old Norman won’t have the insulation provided by an elite Panthers defence and, though he should remain an out-and-out #1 corner and the best the Redskins have had since an in-prime D’Angelo, it would be foolish to expect the same eye-popping numbers that Norman produced a season ago. You can also expect Norman’s personal rivalry with Odell Beckham, Jr. to intensify now that the two find themselves in the same division.

On the line, the Redskins enter the year with a unit that doesn’t look like it will be much better than what was a poor one a season ago. Trent Murphy bulked up in the offseason under the assumption that he would be moving to the interior at defensive end, but Junior Gallette’s Achilles tear means that he’s going to stay outside. The team is expecting production out of veterans Kendall Reyes and Ziggy Hood. There is some depth here, but not a ton of talent.

In looking at the schedule, the team faces a pivotal stretch from Weeks 8 to 15 that will likely decide whether or not the Redskins return to the playoffs. The team plays the Cincinnati Bengals in London, followed by a bye week, and then takes on the Minnesota Vikings (home), Green Bay Packers (home), Dallas Cowboys (away), Arizona Cardinals (away), Philadelphia Eagles (away) and Carolina Panthers (home). Coming out of this section of the schedule with their heads above water is a big ask for any team, so the Redskins will be in tough as the season winds down.

Still with the NFC East expected to be as tight as it was a season ago, a repeat 9-7 performance might be enough to ensure the Redskins a second consecutive playoff appearance for the first time since 1991 and 1992, the year the team last won a Super Bowl.