Robert Griffin III had one of the most impressive starts to an NFL career in 2012, leading Washington to the Wild Card round and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, things quickly unraveled for the Heisman Trophy winner, and by 2017, Griffin claimed he was blackballed by coaches and even considered switching to track and field.
Robert Griffin III Reveals Who Blackballed Him in 2017
Griffin was selected No. 2 overall by Washington in the 2012 NFL Draft, but then-head coach Mike Shanahan reportedly didn’t want to draft him. Shanahan even asked owner Dan Snyder to trade the quarterback after his rookie season.
Snyder refused, but Washington fell to 3-13 in Griffin’s second season, leading to Shanahan’s firing. The team then hired Jay Gruden in 2014, but Griffin struggled with injuries and started just seven games.
In 2015, Griffin suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions and left the game. Even after being medically cleared, he lost his starting job to Kirk Cousins and did not play another snap before being released in 2016.
Griffin signed with the Cleveland Browns but started just five games before being cut in March 2017. He then claimed he was blackballed from the NFL.
Recalling the situation on the latest episode of “Something’s Burning,” Griffin suggested his strained relationship with Shanahan was the reason.
“For me, in 2017, I was out of the NFL for a year, and a lot of people don’t know that. But in 2016, I played for the Browns, got hurt, got cut in March 2017, missed the whole football season. I didn’t play football for an entire year. I went to workouts, didn’t get signed.
“I’m 27 years old, Heisman Trophy winner, second pick in the draft. I’m like, someone’s going to bring me back, right? Then I found out that I was blackballed from the NFL by certain coaches, so that kind of played into it.”
When asked why he was blackballed, Griffin replied, “The whole thing with Mike Shanahan and Washington — he’s a very powerful coach.”
With no opportunities in the NFL, Griffin considered returning to track and field. In high school, he was rated the No. 1 400-meter intermediate hurdler in the country before transitioning to football.
“I ran on the track because I actually started doing the decathlon. I was training and gearing up to go back to track and field. I was 27, and that would have been a great move. I would have loved that. I felt like I needed to still compete. I was so young, and I wasn’t getting the opportunity, so I’m like, I’m just going to go back to track and field.”
However, Griffin’s NFL career wasn’t over just yet. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 as a backup for Lamar Jackson and played three games that season. He appeared in seven games in 2019 and four games in 2020 before being waived by Baltimore in 2021. Griffin then retired and became an NFL analyst for ESPN.