NFL Washington Redskins

Future Still Cloudy For Washington Redskins And Robert Griffin III

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By @JordanWevers

USA Today Sports - Brad Mills

Brad Mills-USA Today Sports

Robert Griffin‘s play has been so schizophrenic throughout the 2014 NFL season that the Washington Redskins are rolling the dice on whichever direction the organization chooses to go next season.

It appears as though head coach Jay Gruden could live without him, while owner Daniel Snyder is committed to further enabling RG3′s entitled ways. If Gruden gets his way, they could be trading away a future MVP, but one would have to assume that the coach is also expendable after a 4-12 season.

Alternatively, Washington could still get some sort of compensation for a quarterback who may have the ceiling of being a high-end backup in the league. This would be an enticing scenario for Washington after the club initially traded away their immediate future for him in the 2012 draft.

If Snyder sticks with the 24-year old, Griffin could become the prized signal caller the franchise thought they had landed in his rookie season. The flip side, of course, is that he further becomes a distraction in the nation’s capital.

With incredible tools, a shiny college resume and the multi-million dollar deal, RG3 has two things holding him back — his health and his attitude. When Griffin clears the pocket and scrambles, it’s his attitude and ego that does not allow him to slide or run out of bounds. Thus, he gets hurt.

When Griffin is hurt, he is not playing and his game loses any rhythm or momentum it once had. His attitude becomes the focus of Washington’s media exploits, and sometimes Griffin makes dumb implications in his statements, like that time he compared himself to Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers – two future first-ballot Hall-of-Famers.

When Griffin is not playing, he should not be talking. After playing well in Week 16 when the Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles and ousted them from playoff contention, Griffin again regressed in Week 17. He threw two terrible interceptions in the red zone against the Dallas Cowboys. One was placed right at a linebacker’s numbers. On the other, Griffin hesitated far too long before deciding to unload a throw to a curl route that a defender stepped easily in front of.

It’s unclear if RG3 is the future of the Redskins’ franchise. His inconsistency, physical ailments and social media presence make him a tough player to believe in and manage. The best thing he can do this offseason is stay quiet and remove himself from the public eye. If he can’t do that, his mental capacity would appear to not be ideal for the Redskins to move forward with.

Griffin must first realize that quarterbacks who win games, championships and league awards deserve to be the center of attention. Even still, some don’t fully embrace it. Griffin has done nothing to warrant the spotlight, yet he continues to crave it.

It was only last season that the Redskins had a two-time Super Bowl champion head coach guiding their roster in Mike Shanahan. Snyder thought that an outspoken quarterback with a small professional football sample size would be more integral to future success. That decision has been a setback for the organization, making 2015 a murky state of affairs.

Griffin has done poorly at times because he holds onto the ball for too long. Maybe it’s time for the Redskins and Snyder to stop holding onto him.

Jordan Wevers is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanWevers, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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