The Washington Redskins overachieved this season by winning the NFC East, even if the division was horrible. They have some work to do this offseason, particularly on defense. However, they seem to believe they have their quarterback. For the foreseeable future it appears Kirk Cousins will be under center in Washington.
That is crazy to think because it was only in 2012 that owner Daniel Snyder and the Redskins traded three first-round picks and a second-round pick so they could move up to the number two overall pick and draft Robert Griffin III. They thought Griffin was the future and most people agreed with that thought process. And it seemed as if the Redskins were correct when he threw for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for 815 yards in 2012, as he earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He then tossed another 16 touchdowns and threw for 3,202 yards in 2013. But injuries began to derail his career and he wasn’t ever quite the same, and he ended up getting benched in 2014. The former Heisman Trophy winner didn’t appear in a single game for Washington in 2015.
According to reports the Redskins are going to release Griffin, which makes sense since they believe Cousins is their guy and Griffin is owed $16.2 million next season. There are a number of teams that could make sense as a landing spot for Griffin, including the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts (as a backup to Andrew Luck), Dallas Cowboys (as a backup to Tony Romo), or the San Francisco 49ers. So where should Robert Griffin III go if he is released?
CHIP KELLY AND ROBERT GRIFFIN III WOULD BE A GOOD MATCH
Griffin should go wherever Chip Kelly goes, as long as Kelly gets another head coaching gig. I’m of the belief that the former Baylor quarterback can still play and teams in need of a quarterback should take a look at signing him, if the Redskins do release him. He is only 25 (he will turn 26 in Feb.) and he kept his mouth shut all season instead of complaining about being benched for Cousins. Griffin ran the scout team and cheered on his teammates from the sideline without becoming a distraction to his team. The NFL is a quarterback driven league and teams without an at least above average signal caller won’t get very far. I believe that Griffin is better than some starters in the league and he is definitely a step up from many of the backup quarterbacks in the NFL.
But it makes the most sense for Griffin to be wherever Chip Kelly goes. With the Philadelphia Eagles firing Kelly as head coach and personnel czar after Week 16 this season, the former head coach is looking for a job. Many people think Kelly taking the Tennessee Titans head coaching job would make sense because his former quarterback at Oregon, Marcus Mariota, is on the Titans. But there have been reports that Tennessee might not be too keen to hire Kelly. If that’s true and Kelly winds up taking one of the other coaching vacancies his, and his new team’s, first move should be signing Griffin.
I’m still surprised Philly fired Kelly, one season after giving him the keys to the car so to speak. He won 10 games in each of his two seasons, but then he made a lot of head scratching offseason moves in his first season in charge of personnel decisions. And the changes Kelly made didn’t work out and the Eagles won only seven games in 2015. But Chip Kelly knows how to coach, he just can’t be the only one in charge of personnel decisions. Kelly will never be given the opportunity to fully make personnel decisions again. That ship has sailed, but he can coach and his system would be perfect for Griffin.
Kelly loves to play a fast tempo offense and that requires (or at the very least is aided by) an athletic and mobile quarterback, which Griffin is. The fact that Griffin managed to largely keep his mouth shut throughout the turmoil, and various coaches, he dealt with in Washington is a good sign too. From various reports it seems Kelly may not be the easiest coach to play for, but Griffin has already experienced some difficult and hard headed coaches. He could probably deal with Kelly with no issues. Most of the teams in need of a head coach also need a quarterback and Griffin would be perfect in Chip Kelly’s system. If the former Eagles head coach gets another shot as a head coach he, and his new team, need to place a call to Robert Griffin III’s agent and take a good look at Griffin.
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 08: Quarterback Robert Griffin III #10 of the Washington Redskins drops back to throw a pass in the first half during an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs at FedExField on December 8, 2013 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
