Robert Griffin III took the National Football League by storm the day he entered the league back in 2012. His rookie season was nothing short of sensational as he terrorized defenses with his cannon arm and elite track speed, carrying the Washington Redskins to their first division title in more than a decade. How has Griffin followed up that 2012 season, a season in which he also won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors? How about two disgraceful seasons and one of the most shocking collapses from grace that the NFL has ever seen.
Griffin is currently in the fight of his life career-wise as he enters the final season of his rookie contract. He has had his struggles on the field, but it does not even compare to the turmoil that seems to pop up on a weekly basis in the Redskins’ locker room.
Redskins fans have probably seen and heard just about everything imaginable. They’ve heard how Griffin isolates himself in the locker room from other players. They’ve seen Griffin’s relationships with coaches Jay Gruden and Mike Shanahan completely disintegrate before their eyes. Among the most bizarre of situations, they have also heard about the constant miscommunication between the Redskins and medical personnel when it comes to Griffin’s never-ending injuries, with the latest concussion controversy representing just the tip of the iceberg.
It has all become quite frustrating for fans and the organization alike, and it doesn’t take a prophet to tell us that these are the end of times for Griffin in the nation’s capital.
Griffin just is not the quarterback that everyone had hoped he would become. He has been accused of being arrogant and uncoachable by various sources and executives, and there have been way too many troublesome reports that have now become public. Among the latest reports that have seeped out the locker room are reported dislike of Griffin by the offensive line. The offensive line is arguably the most important position group on the field – these are the players who are paid to keep quarterbacks upright.
What does it say about a quarterback who does not get along with the guys who are supposed to protect you?!?
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Take the team’s handling of Griffin as well. This has been something going all the way back to Griffin’s rookie season, as the controversy surrounding Shanahan’s decision to let Griffin play on in the playoff loss against Seattle brought a sour end to what should have been a season for the Redskins to look back on with pride.
Fast forward to last week, where we all watched the most bizarre handling of concussion protocol in recent memory unfold. Griffin was first cleared, and then the team announced that he would be benched for the Preseason Week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens despite passing concussion protocols. As the media wondered about the 180-degree u-turn, Griffin sent out a cryptic tweet on Friday afternoon:
NFL Network’s Jeff Darlington attempted to parse the information to present all the information:
The only thing that was clear out of all the public information was that everything about the situation was unclear.
To make things more interesting, Joe Theismann, who was one of the commentators calling the third preseason game between the Redskins and the Ravens, quoted Gruden as saying Kirk Cousins got the start to “see production out of the first team offense.” Was that a thinly-veiled shot at Griffin?
And now this:
Reports have surfaced that everyone within the organization except owner Dan Snyder, who is hellbent on holding on to the quarterback he gave up the farm to get, wants Griffin out of the nation’s capital.
To spice things up even more, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that Snyder is not blocking a trade, but the Redskins have had trouble finding takers for a Griffin trade, for both football and financial ($6.7 million cap number in 2015, $16.1 million in 2016 if his 5th-year option is picked up) reasons.
This has become such a ridiculous soap opera that it is difficult to see how Griffin could stay here even if the team wanted him back. All parties involved would do well to just cut their losses and move on – Griffin is clearly no longer the solution at quarterback, and this is no longer a healthy relationship.