After four seasons with the Washington Redskins, Robert Griffin III is going to play for someone else next season. Where? It looks like it’ll come down to the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers or the Denver Broncos.
With backup quarterbacks, and Griffin, despite the hype that still surrounds him and that oh so impressive rookie season, is nothing more than a backup at this stage of his career. He didn’t take a single snap in 2015, sitting on the sidelines, looking at Kirk Cousins elevate himself into a franchise quarterback position, while taking the Redskins to the postseason for the first time since 2012. Remember 2012? When Griffin looked like the next big thing?
In any case, the Redskins are focusing on keeping Cousins tied up for the next few years, and while there’s the argument over how much he should be paid (at the end of the day, Washington are probably going to pay him whatever he wants), Griffin is going to get cut. It’s impossible to find a trading partner for him, and if he’s released before his salary becomes fully guaranteed, the Redskins save $16.155 million of cap space, without the dead money penalty.
So assuming it’s over between him and the Redskins, where to next? The link with the Dallas Cowboys has been on for quite some time, although not every player Jerry Jones loved in college will actually play for the Cowboys at some point. There isn’t a whole lot of love in regards to Griffin’s abilities right now from the Cowboys offensive play callers, but being in a situation where there’s no doubt about who is the number one quarterback isn’t such a bad idea.
The Eagles would like to re-sign Sam Bradford, but if they add Griffin, regardless of the Bradford situation, it’s not so he can start. The Eagles are going to release Mark Sanchez as well this offseason, which means they need a backup. The same can be said for the Denver Broncos who’ll part ways with Peyton Manning, will be trying to re-sign Brock Osweiler and need a backup no matter what the negotiations turn up. Griffin will be a clear number 2 in Kansas City behind Alex Smith, while Chase Daniel it seems is going to find himself a team that gives him a shot at starting this offseason.
What about the San Francisco 49ers? A lot of questions regarding what they’re going to do at quarterback. Chip Kelly likes mobile quarterbacks? In theory. Griffin isn’t that mobile anymore. There are a lot of question marks around Colin Kaepernick and his future with the franchise as well. Blaine Gabbert probably feels he has done enough to stick around for a while. Griffin going there isn’t a bad idea, but he might end up being the #3 quarterback, which might not be a position on the depth chart he’s a big fan of.