Jay Gruden has only made a hair over 300 posts on X (formerly known as Twitter), but his recent posts have certainly grabbed the attention of the NFL universe.
That’s because the former Washington organization’s head coach has engaged in an online feud with Robert Griffin III — his former quarterback — and their rift escalated further on Thursday.
Jay Gruden Mocks Robert Griffin III: ‘Go Race a Pigeon’
To catch up, both men have undergone a heated back-and-forth exchange that began on Monday during the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers playoff contest.
Griffin first reacted to a post from Gruden, where the former coach stated: “If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen [Hurts] through, I apologize. Pick up a blitz!”
Griffin, however, responded with a “say WHATTT???” response. From there, “RG3” criticized how Gruden was never prepared to coach a QB like him. Gruden, though, blasted Griffin, saying, “You weren’t good enough,” and stating that Kirk Cousins was better in a since-deleted tweet.
The beef between the former NFL head coach and ESPN personality then took a new turn on Thursday evening.
Griffin turned to his “RG3 and the Ones” podcast to put his former head coach on blast. Griffin claimed Gruden had “zero integrity” and accused Gruden of “not having [Griffin’s] back.”
Dear @Coach_JayGruden
Full story 📺 https://t.co/1doiGV9ewS pic.twitter.com/V521hMjB4I
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 19, 2024
Gruden clapped back by posting a viral clip of Griffin sprinting on the field, encouraging his former QB to “go race a pigeon.”
Go race a pigeon. pic.twitter.com/qpAofBpfq7
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 19, 2024
The social media fingers weren’t put away after that. Gruden caught wind of the video rant by Griffin and asked, “You really want to play this game?” to which Griffin clapped back.
“I’m not playing any games, I’m retired. You have a free invite to come on the show and discuss. Face to face. I know where all your bodies are buried, Jay. Don’t play with me,” he posted.
Former Washington WR DeSean Jackson Chimes In
Griffin has one ally in this ongoing rift: DeSean Jackson, who was with him in Washington, D.C.
Jackson, who played for Washington from 2014 to 2016, went on the “Up & Adams” show with Kay Adams to defend his former quarterback.
“I don’t like the beef. I don’t want to be here for the messiness, but I think RG3 has a point to speak for himself,” Jackson said to Adams.
Jackson then made this revelation about Griffin when it came to media dealings:
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“He wasn’t able to speak for himself the way he wanted to,” Jackson explained. “He would’ve gotten fined. He would’ve gotten benched. This was around the time RG3 had a few injuries and Kirk Cousins was named the starter.”
Jackson concluded, saying, “I think this is his time to give his truths of the matter. I think RG3 has the right to say what he says, and I feel like he’s about it.”
"I feel like RGIII has the right to say what he says … and it's valid."
Desean Jackson on RGIII speaking out against Jay Gruden @DeSeanJackson10 @RGIII @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/5AZBuVDMiq
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 19, 2024
Was There Another Backer for Griffin? Or for Gruden?
One more question: Has the feud stretched to Friday morning?
Gruden spent his morning promoting his “Taking the Points” show on YouTube. Meanwhile, RG3 ended up gaining another backer. But this time, it came on the defensive side of the ball.
Will Compton, who played at linebacker with Griffin, took to social media to air out his thoughts. The co-host of “Bussin’ With the Boys” on Barstool Sports shared what he saw from Gruden and Griffin.
“He ultimately didn’t bounce back from his knee injury. He wasn’t RG3,” Compton said. “For whatever reason, whether he rushed coming back, it didn’t work out. He moved to Kirk Cousins. Kirk was the better quarterback in Jay’s system. But Jay, it’s well documented, he didn’t mess with RG3. We felt it in the locker room.”
Compton then got blunt about the situation.
“It’s all petty bulls—,” Compton said. “There’s bodies buried on both sides, don’t get it twisted, but I hope it lands softly. But for RG3, he would love to have a reason for why it didn’t work out in Washington. Ultimately, it falls on how could we have been better individually. To me, it’s all petty, but I love the petty.”
Griffin responded to Compton and gave some clarity on the situation of which Compton touched base.
“Thanks for confirming the truth. Whole situation sucked. Just wanna clear up one thing. The reason it didn’t workout for ya boy in Washington was because of my health. That’s all. These truths coming out now just illustrate things my teammates and the media didn’t know 10 years ago,” he responded.
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