It was a hefty price, but the QB-hungry franchise was willing to pay up to get its guy.
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Griffin will now be able to test free agency after the Redskins paid him $16.1 million last season to not take a single snap. The Redskins, coming off four straight last-place finishes, couldn’t have been more pleased with the debut.
In a way, it is not too surprising the Redskins made a decision to release the second overall pick from the 2012 National Football League draft. He ran for 815 yards and seven touchdowns and had 20 touchdown passes and a 102.4 passer rating in his rookie year.
As a rookie, Griffin attracted headlines for his play. Griffin hasn’t played a regular season game in more than a year, leaving interested teams with no real assessment on his current ability.
01/07/2013: Was he OK to play? Coaches even anxious that if they pulled him from the Seattle playoff game his rookie year, even as he hobbled, that it would ruin their relationship with Griffin. According to ESPN, the Redskins were holding on to Griffin with hopes of a trade.
Griffin’s 2014 season was again plagued with injuries.
RG3’s tenure with the Redskins started off with so much promise. Kaepernick’s own fall from grace since his dynamic 2012 and 2013 seasons has been tough to watch. A loss to the Eagles on November 17 dropped Washington to 3-7.
He struggled to transition from zone-read, dual-threat quarterback to a traditional pocket passer while playing under two-time Super Bowl winning head coach Mike Shanahan and then well-respected quarterback guru Jay Gruden. In 2014, with Shanahan gone and Gruden in charge, Griffin dislocated his left ankle in Week 2 and missed about half the season. The injury bug started to bite after that, though, with Griffin appearing in just 22 games over the next two seasons. Still, there is a need here and maybe that would remain true if Osweiler, who is highly unproven, were to return.
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Tumbling all the way to third-string duty, behind Cousins and Colt McCoy, Griffin was in uniform once on a game day – and that was because the Redskins couldn’t find enough healthy players at other positions to fill out an active roster. The Chiefs have a fully integrated West Coast passing game under Andy Reid, and they’ve been using different option looks with Alex Smith in an under-the-radar fashion for a number of years.
