The story of the Washington Redskins has been a tragic one over the last few years.
The team mortgaged three first round picks and a second round pick in 2012 to acquire who was seen as the savior of the franchise in quarterback Robert Griffin III. Three seasons ago, that was seen as a pretty decent idea — a little expensive, but a move worth the risk.
At first, the move paid off for the Redskins. Griffin lit the league on fire in his rookie season amassing 4,015 total yards and 27 touchdowns combining his throwing and his running. It was a moment described by ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser (a D.C. native) as the beginning of the “era of unbridled optimism”.
Fast forward to September 1, 2015.
That optimism has turned to hopelessness. The Redskins are in complete and utter turmoil. Griffin has not completed a full season since his rookie year — and even in that year, he missed a game. The team has turned to Kirk Cousins — a fourth-round quarterback taken in the same draft as Griffin — to be its week one starter. Head coach Jay Gruden miraculously made it through his first season as the head coach without suffering a heart attack similar to the coach from the Mighty Ducks movie before Gordon Bombay took over.
Dan Snyder is still the team’s owner, and he continues to butt heads with Gruden because he feels that Griffin — the quarterback he spent many draft picks on — should still be the Redskins quarterback.
There are very few bright spots for these new Redskins. Running back Alfred Morris is the team’s most consistent offensive weapon. Wide receiver Desean Jackson is electricity in a bottle if there’s a quarterback that can get him the ball. There is a nice young defense being formed in Washington, and new general manager Scot McCloughan is trying to replicate how he built the Seahawks with picks like Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman with the Redskins and give hope to the franchise.
With all of the intriguing questions and story lines involving the Washington Redskins, it’s only fitting that I bring in my old radio buddy Chip Armstrong to talk about his team. He is a Washington lifer and loves to reminisce in the old days of Doug Williams and “The Hogs” — which makes sense because the last two seasons have been very forgettable.
It’s a week of conversations on Total Sports Live!
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