Washington Redskins’ quarterback Robert Griffin III has struggled immensely to even maintain his starting job following a successful 2012 rookie season.
That is probably why the team plans to host Marcus Mariota, who the Redskins could potentially select with the fifth overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. This coupled with the fact that head coach Jay Gruden is not shy to publicly criticize his franchise quarterback, continues to cast doubt on whether the team believes in RGIII moving forward.
At this point, however, Griffin has former quarterback and Redskins executive Doug Williams on his side. In a interview with Sirius XM, Williams claimed that the team has not lost hope for RGIII.
This is a young guy that’s got some talent. There are adjustments that he has to make if I think given time, and I think that’s one of the reasons why nobody has given up on him. With the talent that he does have, you’re hoping that the last couple of years with the injuries and everything is out of the way, that he will develop into the guy that we all hope for him to be. I think it’s fair to give him that opportunity.
This upcoming season will provide RGIII a third opportunity to prove he can be the team’s franchise signal caller. Since breaking out with a 27-touchdown performance en-route to a 9-6 record as a rookie, the former No. 2 overall pick has posted just five wins in 20 starts over the past two seasons. He’s also thrown just 20 touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions during that span.
Williams’ support of RGIII is likely coming from the fact that he too had his own struggles back in his playing days. Williams eventually overcame his struggles to earn Super Bowl MVP honors in 1987 following a 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.
For RGIII to inch anywhere close to becoming a Super Bowl MVP, the team as a whole needs to get better. It’s easy placing all the blame on one guy, but Washington simply hasn’t performed well since a surprising playoff run in 2012.
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