It's no secret that Kyle Shanahan wanted to trade for former Washington and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins for a long time. Former Washington coach from 2014-2019, Jay Gruden, reveals the main reason the trade never happened.

Gruden revealed that prior to the 2017 NFL draft, the 49ers were offering at least their second overall pick in a trade for Cousins. During the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers hired head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, but the new duo needed a quarterback.

During an appearance on 106.7 The Fan with Grant and Danny, Gruden shared, “I won’t say who contacted me, but I was contacted by someone [in San Francisco] who told me they were very interested. He was getting ready to go on his second franchise tag, and I know they wanted him. The Shanahans love Kirk and he loves them, and I don’t blame them; they brought him in here and taught him some good ball, and we were fortunate to keep Kirk and work with him,” via Lou DiPietro of 95.7 The Game.

They sought out Cousins, but Gruden now explains that Dan Snyder refused to trade him to the 49ers because Snyder “didn't like the Shanahans and didn’t want them to get Kirk.”

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The contempt between the Shanahans and Dan Snyder goes back to the early 2010s when Mike Shanahan served as head coach for Washington and Kyle was the offensive coordinator. In 2012, Washington traded up to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III second overall. They would later draft quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.

Dan Snyder gave preferential treatment to RGIII, which the Shanahans did not like since it undermined the locker room. Snyder also wasn't a fan of Kirk Cousins when he had to fill in for an injured RGIII. After RGIII tore his ACL and MCL in the 2012 playoffs, Washington struggled in 2013 and both of the Shanahans were fired.

Four years later, Snyder refused to trade Cousins to Kyle and so the 49ers later traded for Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo while Cousins eventually went to the Vikings.