The Washington Commanders had a fresh look with rookie Jayden Daniels under center last season. Daniels led the Commanders to their first NFC Championship Game in over two decades and was named Rookie of the Year.
In 2012, Washington saw a similar story when Robert Griffin III led them to the Wild Card round and also won Rookie of the Year. However, Griffin believes there’s a big difference between the two seasons, admitting that Washington was highly dysfunctional during his rookie year.
Robert Griffin III Reveals Washington Front Office Beefed His Rookie Year
Back in 2012, Washington was in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, and they locked in on Griffin and traded up to the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to select him. Washington sent three first-round picks along with their second-round pick that year to the then-St. Louis Rams to land Griffin.
However, Griffin revealed that head coach Mike Shanahan didn’t want to draft him. The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner said that Shanahan hated then-Commanders owner Dan Snyder and would argue over drafting him.
“I had an owner and a head coach that hated each other. The coach didn’t want to draft me, and when they did, now you had the owner, the GM, and the head coach beefing about it,” Griffin said on the latest episode of “Something’s Burning.”
Despite the dysfunction, Griffin put together a stellar rookie season, throwing for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just five interceptions while also rushing for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. But the front-office conflicts didn’t stop, and Washington fell to 3-13 the next season, leading to Shanahan’s firing.
Griffin suggested that their 2013 struggles stemmed from a lack of cohesion within the team and the front office, whereas Washington’s current leadership is unified.
“But we won the division the first year, so no one knew. Then, the next year, we went 4-12, and it was because we didn’t have camaraderie and a united vision. Jayden comes in, and he’s got a new owner, a new GM, a new head coach, and a new OC, and all of them are on the same page.”
After Shanahan’s exit following the 2013 season, Washington hired Jay Gruden. However, Griffin’s 2014 season was plagued by injuries, and he started just seven games.
In 2015, he suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions and left the game. Even after being cleared, Griffin lost his starting job to backup Kirk Cousins and did not play a single snap.
“I don’t ever think I was depressed, but I was in a really bad part of my career being in Washington. I didn’t play that year in 2015 at all.”
“Why? Were you injured?”
“I got hurt. I got a concussion at the beginning of the year, and then when I got back healthy, they didn’t give me the job back,” he admitted.
Griffin was released in 2016 and signed with the Cleveland Browns for one season before spending three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He retired after being waived by Baltimore in 2021.
Griffin never replicated his rookie success. His best follow-up came in 2013 when he threw for 3,203 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while rushing for 489 yards. He finished his seven-year NFL career with 9,271 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 1,809 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns.