The Washington Redskins come into the game against the Rams at a crossroads and with RG3 on the bench for Colt McCoy in Week 14 again, the team may look at a trade in the future with Robert Griffin III and teams like the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles Houston Texans, NY Jets, Tennessee Titans or Buffalo Bills could be options if they make a move.
Griffin was benched for Colt McCoy by head coach Jay Gruden and it came after a stretch of inconsistent play and losses by the Redskins and now his future is uncertain. The team has to decide soon whether or not to pick up his fifth year option and with that year likely costing quite a bit of money, there is a chance he is finished in Washington already. According to ESPN.com writer Adam Schefter, there is a chance that the two sides part ways after the season and that would be a bit of a shock after what the Redskins gave up to get RG3.
The Rams and Redskins play this weekend and the fact that the team also played the Colts last week shines a light on how badly this has all gone. The beginning was amazing, with Griffin leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in a few years and winning rookie of the year. Griffin was excellent and the team looked like they had a franchise QB for years to come. But after getting injured and not sitting out when he likely should have against the Seahawks in the playoffs, Griffin put himself on a bad track.
The next season Griffin (as he has always done) allowed social media and fan perceptions to get the best of him and selfishly declared that he was "all in for Week 1". The campaign had shirts and other promotions and was all about Griffin playing Week 1. He put Mike Shanahan and the Redskins in a tough position and eventually he was injured again and ever since he has not been the same. Griffin has now burned through one coaching staff and Jay Gruden appeared to be exasperated by the way Griffin played earlier in the season.
While Griffin is the franchise star, the team opted ot bench him and now that could lead to a split. According to Pro Football Talk, Dan Snyder is "befuddled" by the regression of RG3 and now the team really has some major decisions to make going forward. Andrew Luck has been exceptional coming into the league and having Griffin on the sidelines for Colt McCoy when playing against the player drafted right ahead of him had to be embarrassing for both RG3 and the Redskins as an organization.
The Redskins are tied with the Giants at 3-9 at the bottom of the NFC East and they may need some major time to pull out of this slide if they ditch Griffin. Teams like the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans could be options, while the Eagles, Browns and Buccaneers could re-evaluate their QB situations. A new coaching staff and a new team out of the media firestorm that is the DC Sports Complex could be just what Griffin needs for a turnaround.
