Most of what we know about the relationship between Robert Griffin III and Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden comes from media reports. If what Ryan Clark observed last year during his one season in the nation’s capital is any indication, the view from inside looks pretty much the same.
According to the retired safety, it is very obvious that RG3 is not Gruden’s guy.
“Jay Gruden, as you saw from last year — the media reports where he would say RG3 took a five-step drop where he was supposed to take three, or he looked the wrong way this many times in a game — he showed the world that it wasn’t his guy,” Clark said on ESPN, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “He comes out early in the offseason and says, ‘You know what? Robert Griffin III is our quarterback.’ I think that was to kind of try to show there’s no issues in house, but there clearly is. He’s not his guy. They want to go in a different direction.”
One report speculated that the Redskins would draft Marcus Mariota if he slipped to No. 5 in the NFL draft later this month. Clark said that chatter in itself could create tension in the locker room.
“To hear this early that at No. 5 if Marcus Mariota is there, it has to be disheartening to RG3,” he said. “And even if they don’t draft Marcus Mariota, it could create a problem in the locker room.”
The way it seems is that Daniel Snyder and the Redskins’ brass are not ready to give up on Griffin. Given the resources they exhausted to draft him a few years ago, that makes sense. But if this anonymous player’s thoughts are any indication, Gruden isn’t the only one who has given up on RG3. This offseason will be incredibly interesting for the Redskins, starting with the draft.
