Robert Griffin III (RG3) put together one of the most memorable seasons in Washington Commanders (formerly Redskins) history in 2012.
The Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor took Washington to the playoffs with a (10-6) record and hosted a home game after winning the NFC East. The game started well for Griffin, but he suffered a brutal knee injury that led to a Washington loss and was the start of the end for the former No. 1 overall pick’s NFL career.
Under Mike Shanahan — who claims former owner Dan Snyder pushed to make the massive trade for Griffin — the next two seasons became a roller coasters of injuries that led to tension.
After some controversy over whether Griffin would be ready for the 2013 season opener (he did not play a single preseason game), he debuted in the loss to Philadelphia Eagles. Griffin failed to replicate his 2012 success during the first half of the 2013 season and remained statistically below expectations until Washington’s Week 7 game against the Chicago Bears and professional career where he failed to score a single offensive touchdown.
On December 11, head coach Mike Shanahan announced that RG3 would be inactive for the last three games of the season and that Kirk Cousins would finish the season as the starter. He claimed that it was done in order to eliminate risk of further injury to Griffin.
The 2014 season was even crazier for RG3. On September 14, 2014, in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Griffin was carted off the field after suffering a dislocated left ankle. X-rays and MRIs revealed no fractures in the ankle. On October 29, it was reported that Griffin was set to return against the Minnesota Vikings in week 9. The Redskins then dropped their next three games, falling to the Vikings, Buccaneers, and 49ers.
On November 25, it was reported that Griffin would be benched for Colt McCoy, heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. After McCoy went down with a neck injury against the New York Giants, Griffin came in and looked impressive in a loss to the Giants, throwing for 236 yards and 1 touchdown passing. RG3 was named the starter for the rest of the year but finished 2-5 as a starter in 2014 and the Redskins finished 4–12 and last place in the NFC East.
During a 2017 radio interviewin Washington, D.C., Santana Moss — who played with RG3 — told of a fractured relationship between Shanahan and Griffin, who was benched for the final three games of that season.
Moss said he believed the QB approached owner Dan Snyder which eventually led to the hiring of Jay Gruden in 2015.
RG3 Claims Jay Gruden Never Liked Him, The Former Player And Coach Get In Social Media Feud On Monday
From the moment Gruden was hired as Washington’s next head coach, there were already reports between him and Griffin having tension.
Bleacher Report spoke to one NFL coach who was a known huge RG3 fan, to get his thoughts. His immediate reply: “I have never, ever, on any level, seen a head coach treat his quarterback with such a lack of respect.”
This came after Gruden decided to start Griffin behind backup offensive linemen in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions. RG3 took multiple big hits.
The coach does, beginning with the game tape of the offensive line. “It’s easy to see that the line play was in shambles,” the coach said. “That happens, especially this time of year.”
“That Lions front, even without [Ndamukong] Suh, is pretty ferocious. As a coach, you see your guys getting beat, and you see your quarterback especially take that first shot, every coach I know would have taken their quarterback out of the game.”
“What is baffling,” he said, “is that I can’t think of a single head coach in the NFL who would take an injury-prone quarterback, put him behind a very shaky offensive line, in a preseason game, watch him take those kinds of hits and leave him in the game. It looks personal to me.”
To this day, Griffin believes Gruden was out to get him and blames him for setting him up for failure.
On Monday night during the Eagles vs. Buccaneers NFC Wildcard game, Gruden took to social media criticizing the lack of protection for Jalen Hurts, and said if he ever did that as a coach he apologized.
If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen through , I apologize. Pick up a blitz !
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 16, 2024
Redskins legend Brian Mitchell immediately chimed in as it almost looked like Gruden was mocking his handling of RG3,
I was way better at all of my jobs than you were at any of yours. You are a joke.
— Brian Mitchell (@BMITCHLIVE30) January 16, 2024
And then Griffin himself joined in with an abundantly clear statement aimed at Jay Gruden.
Say WHATTTT??? https://t.co/TAHWqvDoce pic.twitter.com/mnuh9VafCz
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
Gruden fired back saying Griffin wasn’t prepared, and RG3 responded with “you didn’t know how to coach a QB who could throw and run like me, so looks like you weren’t prepared Jay
You told me you didn’t know how to coach a QB who could throw and run like me, so looks like you weren’t prepared Jay. https://t.co/hrcZFXISkk pic.twitter.com/qiikYkFkpq
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
Moss reiterated Gruden wasn’t a fan of RG3 from Day 1 during the 2017 interview.
“He rips RG every chance he gets, like every meeting,” Moss said, “and we’re sitting there looking like, ‘Yeah. You know what? You were just so happy that Mike and [offensive coordinator] Kyle [Shanahan] and them is gone, but now you’re getting your behind ripped every day, because you’re not playing the kind of football that we need to play for us to be successful.’
“So, it comes back and bites you in your behind. … I was saying to myself that, as much as I love [Griffin] as a person, bro, and as much as I know from how you came into these doors, that was the dumbest mistake you could ever make in this league, because it’s one of those brotherhoods.”
It appears both sides made mistakes, and while Gruden is out off the league sipping beers on his couch and sending out wild tweets, RG3 is emerging as a top analyst for ESPN. Nothing like a good ole social media feud between a former NFL coach and star QB.
