Should Redskins Feel Buyer’s Remorse for RG3 Trade?

What a difference a month makes.

On December 30^th, Robert Griffin III led the Redskins to a 28-18 win over the Dallas Cowboys to cap off an improbable seven-game winning streak. The win clinched a playoff bid and the team’s first NFC East Division title in 13 years.

Since then, Griffin underwent surgery to repair his LCL and ACL and we’ve seen quarterbacks previously dismissed as inferior dazzle in their quest for the Super Bowl. Despite how incredible Griffin was in his rookie season, with his future now in doubt the Redskins may be thinking about all those draft picks they gave away for their “long-term” QB.

Griffin left fans in awe of his abilities in his rookie season. The Redskins have not had a franchise quarterback since Joe Theismann, but Griffin showed that streak was over in his very first game. In New Orleans, Griffin threw for 320 yards, two touchdowns, and ran for another 42 yards. You could not ask for a better debut.

Griffin took the team on his back for much of the season, helping the Redskins improve to 10-6 after going 5-11 just one year ago. He boasts impressive arm strength, pinpoint accuracy, and incredible mobility. These skills make him one of, if not the most dangerous QB in the NFL.

The problem with Griffin is his durability. I would not label him injury prone, but the way in which he plays makes him more susceptible to serious injuries.

Griffin played 16 games this season and did not finish three of them. He also missed one game entirely due to injuries sustained the week before. Each of these injuries could have been avoided.

Many critics of the Redskins’ offense argue that the read option system the team runs allows a QB to take too many hits. This can be successful in college, but in the NFL where players are bigger and faster, you cannot allow your most important player to take so much punishment. While injuries are always a risk, both Russell Wilson of the Seahawks and Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers have managed to run a very similar type of offense successfully and without injury. True, even Michael Vick managed to play one full season in his career, but if you watch Wilson and Kaepernick play the difference between how they play and Griffin plays the same offense is noticeable.

Whenever Griffin scrambles, the play inevitably ends with a bone-crunching hit as Griffin continues extending the play looking for extra yardage. Wilson and Kaepernick run along the sidelines and slide when rushing in the middle. Essentially, the problem is not the Redskins’ offense, but the way Griffin approaches it.

With his entire 2103 season now in doubt and Wilson and Kaepernick running the same system with success, do you think the Redskins think about those four draft picks they traded for Griffin?

Hindsight is of course 20/20 and there was no way the Redskins could have known Wilson would be as effective as he has been. Wilson fell to the third round of the draft as every NFL team had questions regarding his size, but ask yourself this: would the Redskins have been better off keeping the picks and drafting Wilson?

With Wilson falling to the third round, the Redskins could have addressed other needs as well as quarterback with the 2012 draft. The Redskins could legitimately have drafted both Wilson and Morris Claiborne. Claiborne could certainly have helped the team’s struggling secondary this year. Of course, the fan base would not have been pleased at least initially. After the John Beck disaster, few would have had the stomach to see Shanahan pass on a chance to trade up for Griffin choosing instead to draft a "hidden gem" in the third round, but the results would have silenced the critics.

Let’s say teams were aware of Wilson’s potential. Many experts have said Wilson’s talent puts him on par with Griffin and Andrew Luck; the only reason he fell so far was because he is only 5ft 11in. The Redskins’ would not have needed to trade up for a quarterback.  Indianapolis would have selected a QB with the number one pick, but no one in front of the Redskins needed one.  Cleveland may have traded up to ensure their spot, but that would still leave the Redskins either Luck, Wilson, or Griffin depending on who was left.

The Redskins’ prospects for the 2013 draft would be very different as well given that they would still have their first round pick. With an $18 million cap penalty, it will be hard to address team weaknesses through free agency. A first round pick, however, would allow the Redskins to draft a safety that could have an immediate impact on the field.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Griffin. He has better arm strength than any of the rookie QBs and incredible accuracy. A healthy Griffin is undoubtedly better than Wilson, Kaepernick, and debatably Luck. He does not help the team, however, if he can’t stay on the field.

After Griffin’s concussion against Atlanta, he came back saying all the right things about how he needed to be more careful and protect himself.  That message did not sink in.

He needs to consider what’s best the team and best for his career. Take notes on how both Wilson and Kaepernick run the read option. It’s ok to slide; it’s not ok for your career to be cut short after only two or three seasons.

If Griffin takes another shot to the knee, his career may be over before St. Louis can even use the last draft pick they received in the trade. That was not what the Redskins had in mind when they drafted their franchise QB.