By Mark Bacon
"Sources say…" is a phrase that has filled many a sports report since D.C.'s beloved NFL franchise started training camp over a month ago. It's jarring when contrasted with The Washington Redskins under Coach Joe Gibbs 1.0; the team was an amazing NFL brand. But now? Never have I seen a great franchise in sports become such a cartoon.
It boils down to one element: The Robert "Bob" Griffin III saga. It isn’t just a dominant story in the D.C. area, it’s long since caught the attention of NFL observers across the country. So it was no surprise that the latest developments in the Skins’ quarterbacking situation became a topic of conversation between Fox Sports’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman during a telecast Sunday of a preseason game between the Saints and Texans. Here is what Aikman had to say:
“It’s pretty bizarre, huh? Someone compared the Redskins to the Kardashians, saying they’re the Kardashians of the NFL.
“I don’t think that’s fair — I don’t think the Kardashians are nearly as dysfunctional.”
If you needed more context, retired 'Skins tight end, and local favorite, Chris Cooley had provided it the day before. During the team’s official radio pregame show — before Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy had stepped on the field in Baltimore — Cooley made several strong predictions about what would happen next. “I don’t think this organization’s going to continue to move forward with Robert at this point,” Cooley said. “I just don’t think that’s on the table anymore.”
Many other people, of course, have made similar predictions this weekend, culminating with an ESPN report that high-ranking team officials want to part ways with Griffin but are facing opposition from owner Dan Snyder and his capo, Bruce Allen. However, what's striking is Cooley is paid by the team, remains a regular at Redskins Park, and has relationships with key figures inside the building.
“I don’t even think it matters how Kirk Cousins plays tonight; I think he’s the starter,” Cooley said before Saturday’s exhibition game. “I believe that he’s going to be your starter in week one. … I think they’re at the point now where they’ve made the decision; it’s just how they go about naming him. … I think they’ve made the decision that Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback this season. … I feel pretty confident in saying that’s where they’re going right now.”
And what would that mean for Bob? “It means one of two things for Griffin,” Cooley said, predicating that the one-time franchise quarterback would either be released, traded or deactivated.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes into the season [with the Redskins], if they can’t deal him, and they just deactivate him,” Cooley said. “I don’t think that he’d be the second-string guy; I think that he’d be deactivated on this roster. But other than that, he’s released.”
High-ranking Washington Redskins front-office officials and coaches want to part ways with quarterback the former superstar "RGIII," but are meeting resistance from team ownership, according to sources.
The Redskins even have had trade conversations about Griffin with a handful of NFL teams, (sources report the Texans, Jets and Eagles were the interested parties,) but have found no interest, and it remains unclear whether ownership would allow Washington to trade him, sources said.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Bob has lost his starting quarterback job, his luster, swag and possibly skill sets, and depending on the events and conversations in the coming days, perhaps his roster spot. Outside of ownership, there has been a notable groundswell of support from a strong segment of football people within the organization to change quarterbacks, but there is a question about whether they have the authority to part ways with Griffin, sources said.
Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan was hired this past offseason to rebuild the team, so he looms as a possible X factor in any big personnel decision that involves Griffin as teams trim their rosters from 90 to 53 players over the next week. McCloughan's ability to produce a resolution that all sides can live with now looms large.
For more than two years, Bob has had one of the most difficult tasks in the NFL. He talks to the media, he tends to instantly make things harder on himself. Even if he were to say the right thing, the challenge he has had managing expectations and reinventing his game would be immense.
He hasn’t been able to complete the task. Perhaps one day, Griffin will look as carefree on a football field as his teammates did on Saturday night, defeating the Baltimore Ravens. But it won’t happen in D.C. It’s closing time. The best franchises know how to respond, no matter the level of disappointment. It's time to move on, time to move forward.
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