Stephen A. Smith has often called the Dallas Cowboys, "the accident waiting to happen," but it looks like another team has taken the prize as the new accident waiting to happen. The Washington Redskins.
The chaos for the Redskins was well before the ill-fated RGIII-era. Their mess started when the Redskins signed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year, $100 million deal. At the time of the contract, the Redskins were coming off of an 8-8 season and they wanted an overhaul on defense. Haynesworth was coming off of a season in which he had a career high 8.5 sacks. The Redskins knew of all of the baggage that came with Haynesworth. He took plays off, he hadn’t played a full season since his rookie season, and he had just served the longest NFL suspension for an on-field incident. But in typical Washington Redskins fashion, they sign him to the most guaranteed money in NFL history at the time.
Fast forward three years and you get to the 2012 draft. The Redskins were a mess at the quarterback position with Rex Grossman starting for 13 games. Running game was non-existent (Roy Helu Jr. was the feature back). Defense wasn’t a problem as they finished 13th in yards allowed per game. The Redskins needed a difference maker at the most important position, and that's quarterback.
With a 5-11 record, they were slated to have the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft and they needed to move up to the top two overall pick and get one of the top QBs available, Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III. Luck was being compared to the likes of John Elway and Peyton Manning by experts around the NFL landscape. RGIII was being compared to the late Steve McNair. In a lot of peoples eyes, both were projected to be future Hall of Famers. The Indianapolis Colts weren’t budging on trading out of the first overall pick, but the Redskins liked both players. So they gave up a kings ransom to get the number two pick from the St. Louis Rams. The Rams received three first round picks and a second round pick. The Redskins were going all in on for the athletic, strong-armed quarterback from Baylor. For some reason, the Redskins drafted another quarterback by the name of Kirk Cousins in the fourth round of the same draft.
Griffin III had a phenomenal rookie season as he recorded 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions, while bringing great dual-threat dimension to the field. In the 15 games he played, RGIII helped lead the Redskins to a 9-6 record in games in which he played. But injuries took their toll in his rookie season. Week 14 he had a scare as he was tackled by Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata directly in the knee. Griffin III would suffer an LCL sprain. And in the Wild Card game, RGIII would plant his foot and fall to the ground in pain against the Seattle Seahawks. The controversy surrounding this injury was that Dr. James Andrews didn’t clear the rookie quarterback to play. That would mark the downfall of RGIII.
The next couple of seasons would be spent with distractions (All In For Week One), injuries (broken ankle in 2014) and a lack of cohesiveness with the coaching staff (head coaches Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden never been on the same page with Griffin).
Now, as of yesterday, there are talks that Kirk Cousins could start Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, and that would be the wrong move by Washington if RGIII is healthy. Kirk Cousins hasn't shown the ability to be a good quarterback in the NFL. Mediocre arm strength, decent accuracy and poor pocket presence. With the money and investment the Redskins made in Griffin III, it’s only fair that they allow him to play this season if he’s healthy.
The fact that their is a quarterback controversy because of the head coach is silly. Mike Shanahan didn’t love him, but he made it work. Jay Gruden has made it a personal goal of his to make sure Griffin isn’t his starting quarterback. An anonymous head coach texted Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report and said that, “ I have, never, ever, on any level, seen a head coach treat his quarterback with such a lack of respect.” That is honestly very true. RGIII was taking big hits in a preseason game yet he was left in. Usually, your unquestioned starter isn’t left in a preseason game if he’s obviously getting beat up and playing behind a mediocre offensive line. At the end of this season, don’t be surprised if Jay Gruden is fired and the Redskins are taking a quarterback in next years draft.