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So where did the goofy, out-of-the-blue notion that the Cowboys could trade quarterback Tony Romo to Washington as part of a three-team-Kirk-Cousins-to-the-49ers deal come from? Appearing on 106.7 The Fan in D.C. on Monday, Mike Jones of the Washington Post offered up a theory that is outlandish enough to be dead-on balls accurate.

Via Ryan Glasspiegel of TheBigLead.com, Jones suggested that Washington president Bruce Allen floated the rumor in an effort to change the subject from the ongoing instances of D.C. dysfunction.

“The week was bad,” Jones said. “They were taking hits left and right from a P.R. standpoint. Everybody in the league was talking about them. I mean . . . people from other teams, not reporters, would see me and be like, ‘What’s going on with Washington?’ Everybody was wondering what the heck was the deal. And you even had agents saying that they didn’t know if they wanted to send their guys there. Agents who met with the Redskins about re-signing, saying like, ‘Who’s in charge there?'”

Jones continued: “Ultimately, Bruce [Allen] kind of was like, ‘All right, we gotta do something, because my fake Ian Rapoport Redskins three-way trade thing didn’t work to change the story . . . so let’s sign Jay [Gruden] to an extension.”

Some would say Jones was joking (it didn’t sound like a joke). Regardless, that theory definitely was making the rounds in Indianapolis. And it sort of worked, at least for an hour or two.

Once the initial shock wore off, it was clear that no one bought it. So Allen needed something else.

Enter the Jay Gruden extension. Which still didn’t do much to obscure the issues still percolating around the franchise, or the open speculation that Washington currently is evaluating potential replacements for G.M. Scot McGloughan.