In golf, when you play with your buddies you are usually allowed a mulligan, you know, a do-over. Sadly in real life, mulligans do not exist. A fact that is fast becoming clear in our nation’s capital, where Robert Griffin III has apparently worn out his welcome.
The player that the Redskins mortgaged their future for in a Ricky Williams-like draft day trade with the Rams in 2012 NFL Draft, is no longer the future of the team. Ironically it is a player that the Redskins took 100 picks later, Kirk Cousins who will be under center to start the season in DC. For Cousins, the Redskins didn’t have to part with 3 first-rounders and a second-rounder.
In what may be the saddest part of it all, is that 73 picks after Griffin was taken, the Seattle Seahawks selected a guy named Russell Wilson. All he has done is led his team to two Super Bowls and one title. Is it any wonder the guy who pushed the hardest for Griffin, former head coach Mike Shanahan is no longer there?
The issue now with Griffin is Daniel Snyder. Yes, the bad version of Jerry Jones or Mark Cuban (if you prefer NBA references) is not allowing his football people to make decisions and is instead insisting the Griffin is not going anywhere. Whether it is hubris or that he ok’d what may go down as one of the worst trades since the Native Americans accepted beads and blankets with small pox for the island of Manhattan, Snyder does not want to let Griffin go.
It is so bad, that even a player who was once in Griffin’s corner and has even caught passes from him knows it is time to move on. Former tight end and current Redskins radio personality Chris Cooley made this prediction on Saturday before the team’s third pre-season game:
“I don’t think this organization’s going to continue to move forward with Robert at this point. I just don’t think that’s on the table anymore.”
But Cooley was not done there, no not by a long shot. Cooley went on to say that Cousins should be the starter for this team and that Griffin should be traded, released or at the very least deactivated on Game Days. The turning point for Cooley was in the team’s second game against the Lions, which prompted Cooley to say:
“If there was a moment, I would say it’s when they all sat down and watched film after last Thursday’s game, that was the moment. But I think there were a lot of small moments leading up to that. That was in the midst of him being named the starter, given every opportunity to succeed with the [starters], and not succeeding, and not playing well through most of training camp. And that would have led up to the moment, which would have been I guess last Friday or Saturday. And at some point over the weekend — or if not, the next Monday — that talk going all the way to ownership.”
Snyder may be totally out voted by everyone who knows football, but as we all know it is not the smartest people in Washington DC that get their way, it is the ones with the power.
So Griffin’s fall from grace is complete and the only reason he still has a gig is because he is being protected by the owner. Maybe it is the curse of being a spokesman for Subway. First Jared, now RGIII, if I was Michael Phelps I would watch it.