If Robert Griffin III is on his way out of Washington, that means he’ll soon be packing his bags for somewhere else. Though everything is speculation and guesswork so early in the process, FTW has narrowed down the list of possible suitors to eight teams.
Before we start, here’s the nuts and bolts of the contract: The Redskins can trade RG3 without much cost to their, or another, team’s cap. He’d come relatively cheap for another team (a one-year, $3.4 million deal) and wouldn’t cost the Redskins much from a trade ($3.3 million), with a $6.7 million cap hit that’s basically pocket change to a team that’s paying $3.3 million in dead money to Josh Morgan this year.
Any team could also play RG3 in his fourth year at his normal $6.7 cap hit, then decide whether to pick up his hefty fifth-year option before the 2015 season, which would guarantee him a top-10 QB salary. But if you think this story is dramatic now, just wait until Washington goes into 2015 with RG3 as a lame duck quarterback.
With that, here are the eight more logical landing spots for the talented, injury-prone quarterback.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
(AP)
Nick Foles’ future in Philly is about as bright as RG3’s in Washington. Mark Sanchez can only Sanchize so much. Could RG3 make the trip up I-95 to the Eagles? It’s doubtful, as the idea of Griffin torching the Redskins twice a year for the next 10 years is enough to give all of Washington nightmares. But could Philly swing an interesting trade that would get them RG3 and some other assets that they could then use to move up in the draft to acquire Kelly’s Oregon favorite Marcus Mariota? This isn’t the NBA, where such deals are more common, but anything can happen, especially with a visionary such as Kelly.
7. Tennessee Titans
(Instagram)
As Zach Mettenberger might say, the problem with young quarterbacks is that they get older and the rest of the team stays the same age. Sorry, just wanted a Wooderson line in this even if it makes no sense. Tennessee could make an easy play for RG3, hope he’s effective in 2015 when he’s on the last year of his deal and then ditch him in 2016 if he’s not viable. For a story with so much intrigue, there are a ton of reasonable options.
6a. SEC Network’s SEC Nation alongside Tim Tebow
(Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports)
I’m only half-kidding.
6b. Oakland Raiders
Jim Plunkett revived his career once in Oakland. (AP)
As currently constructed, the Raiders have little shot at RG3. But if Jon Gruden or Jim Harbaugh takes the job, wouldn’t RG3 look pretty good in silver and black?
5. New York Jets
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Possible New York Post headllines for if the Jets sign RG3:
• O-M-R-G-3
• REX AND DEFECTS (this assumes Rex Ryan is still there)
• NEW JET, BROKEN WHEELS
• BUTTFUMBLE 2.0
• RG3 CARD FOLLY
• THE SECOND COMING (split pics of RG3 and Tebow)
Remember when Michael Sam was trying to make the NFL and many spoke of distractions. And even though there weren’t any, there was a whole debate? If Robert Griffin III goes to New York, then we’ll see distractions, even if the team could use him.
4. Buffalo Bills
Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports
A new owner, a fan base starved for wins and saved the indignity of having to listen to the Canadian national anthem before games. The Bills are getting wins with Kyle Orton at quarterback. It’s a perfect situation, if the team didn’t already have EJ Manuel, who may or may not be better than RG3. All of this reminds me of the scene from Best Picture winner Argo.
3. Washington Redskins
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Nothing is ever over. Richard Nixon came back after his 1960 defeat. Woody Allen left Mia Farrow for her adopted daughter and still is the toast of Hollywood. Michael Vick became a champion of animal rights. Robert Downey Jr. was an ex-con drug user who turned into the biggest movie star in the world. Kobe Bryant lost his endorsements after his trial in Colorado and then became a beloved NBA star again. Billy Martin came back to manage the Yankees five times. Mel Gibson — well, not Mel Gibson.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is full of it. There are always second acts in American life. What looms large today is almost forgotten tomorrow. The odds of this blowing over are far higher than anyone believes. This seems irreparable today, but when May rolls around and RG3 is forced with the prospect of going to Oakland and the Redskins are debating between Orton and Colt McCoy, cooler heads may prevail. Remember all those good times they had, those seven weeks in 2012?
2. Houston Texans
Patric Schneider/AP
RG3 goes back to Texas, brought in by a coach who studied under Bill Belichick and has the appropriate hubris. To Bill O’Brien, Griffin is a reclamation project — a guy he thinks he can pair with Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and a stout defense to make the playoffs immediately. O’Brien isn’t scared of taking on difficult situations — he went to Penn State the year after the Jerry Sandusky mess. And if one of RG3’s biggest criticisms while on the Redskins was that to he was too much of a diva, that won’t matter as much in Houston (a big city but an NFL outpost) or when he’s in the same locker room as J.J. Watt.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Call it a gut feeling. Tampa needs a quarterback. Lovie Smith needs the offense that has deserted him during his last few years coaching in Chicago and Tampa. And while the Bucs could be in position to draft Jameis Winston this spring — good luck with that. Why not give up a low-round pick for RG3, pay him the little money he’s owed this year, draft some offensive linemen around him and let offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford live up to that reputation he has as a QB quru. It’s low risk. The biggest downside to this, Tampa got a first-hand view of how awful RG3 was in last week’s game.
Not happening: St. Louis Rams
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
The hilarity of the Redskins mortgaging their future to St. Louis and then trading it back for next to nothing would be like buying a Lamborghini and then trading it in for a Datsun. The crazy thing is, with Sam Bradford’s contract ending after this season and RG3 not worth a whole lot in 2015, this trade would make sense for both teams. But there’s no way Dan Snyder’s ego lets this happen. Snyder will change the Redskins name before he lets people think the Rams pulled a fast one on him.
Not happening: Dallas Cowboys
(AP)
Not happening. If Jerry Jones could be talked out a Johnny Manziel with a theoretically limitless future, he shouldn’t have much trouble getting away from RG3’s Walking Dead routine. Plus, there’s not enough Crown Royal in the world to get Dan Snyder to make this trade anyway.
