The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

It's official. Gm had a press conference will make it offofficial Monday. Draft has no affect with his contract. Best available. ESPN 980 at 1 will discuss it more.

RGIII's fifth year option picked up per SM:

http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsbl ... g3s-future

EA7649 wrote:Of course it will be looked at as a mistake if they extend the contract. By some it will be looked as a mistake if they don't extend the contract. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

You're totally right, but its crazy. There isn't anything that surprising about this move.

I actually think btw that this move really puts RGIII on notice in a way because of the injury guarantee. If Griffin goes out there and plays like complete *** for four or five games, do you keep him out there with the injury risk?

He has to show that the reward is worth the risk.

riggofan wrote:I actually think btw that this move really puts RGIII on notice in a way because of the injury guarantee. If Griffin goes out there and plays like complete *** for four or five games, do you keep him out there with the injury risk?

He has to show that the reward is worth the risk.

Absolutely agree with this. It's on Robert, as it has always been anyway. He succeeds or fails on his doing.

We shall see.

riggofan wrote:I actually think btw that this move really puts RGIII on notice in a way because of the injury guarantee. If Griffin goes out there and plays like complete *** for four or five games, do you keep him out there with the injury risk?

He has to show that the reward is worth the risk.

Yes!

it was really a no brainer after reading riggofan's breakdown

and I agree - since last season and especially that Tampa game, the QB situation is very clear - show us what you've got or we move on

the FO guys also know that if Griffin is let go because they don't think he's going to be a good NFL QB and he goes elsewhere and becomes a really good NFL QB, they'll all be looking for jobs - Snyder wants this kid to be our QB

lot's of pressure all the way round

emoses14 wrote:

riggofan wrote:I actually think btw that this move really puts RGIII on notice in a way because of the injury guarantee. If Griffin goes out there and plays like complete *** for four or five games, do you keep him out there with the injury risk?

He has to show that the reward is worth the risk.

Absolutely agree with this. It's on Robert, as it has always been anyway. He succeeds or fails on his doing.

Exactly. So even for fans who aren't on board with RGIII, there is a positive here. The team really can't afford to let Griffin play an entire season taking sacks at an historic rate. If he's on pace for another 33 sacks, you almost have to yank him because of the injury guarantee.

Its incentive for Griffin too. He's playing to earn that $16m. If he sucks this year and gets released, what other team is paying him that kind of money?

plus if Griffin shows that he can become a decent starter they can now take the time to help him develop - it's not as if they're going to take a chance with injury when they can build an effective line and have Griffin develop over the next 2 seasons to become the QB they need

of course, Griffin has to clearly show that he's making progress or he will be gone

I support the move. Bob needs some support right now.
We need less drama and more assurances. Im not sure who decided to do this. Dan or Scott?

But either way I believe that its best for us to give a vote of confidence towards Griffin. So that he has less to worry about so that he can focus that much more on football.


If he does not perform we can always cut him or trade him. But I dont believe that will be the case. I am going to have faith. Griffin delivered the goods before he will deliver again!

riggofan wrote:

OldSchool wrote:I am not convinced the Skins could CUT Griffin after the 2015 season and get out of the 16M 2016 commitment, the rules may work that way but I'm not convinced.

What do you mean you're not convinced? This is how the fifth year option works. Its not like something you have to "believe in".

https://in2theleague.wordpress.com/2013 ... und-picks/
When a team exercises the option, it becomes guaranteed for injury only. If the player is on the team’s opening-day Active/Inactive roster for the option year, his salary becomes fully guaranteed for skill, cap, and injury.

OldSchool wrote:Another reason not to make a 16M commitment now is how it would preceived by the rest of team. Griffin hasn't earned a big pay day. Paying him an enormous sum in advance of event competent play would annoy his teammates.

Thanks for posting this link. I just read it and now I understand the argument you and others have made in favor of excercising this option. If I understand it correctly now they can elect to do this and Griffin has a huge year in 2015 the option year ensures he is with the Skins in 2016 and they have another year to assess his progress before they commit to a big multi year agreement. If they excercise the option and he stinks in 2015 they can cut him before the beginning of the 2016 without penalty. It seems like they only case this is bad thing for the Skins is if Griffin neither fails nor succeeds in a big way. If he improves a little bit they are forced to overpay in 2016 or cut him when they might prefer to provide him with a modest contract for 2016-2017.

Excercising this option will force the Skins to make a decision prior to the start of 2016 and might shorten the runway for Robert. After learning how this option year really works I don't care what they do. Thanks again for posting the link.

OldSchool wrote:Excercising this option will force the Skins to make a decision prior to the start of 2016 and might shorten the runway for Robert. After learning how this option year really works I don't care what they do. Thanks again for posting the link.

no problem!

"Shorten the runway..." lol. That's a good way to phrase it!

If I was in Griffin's camp I'm not sure I would want the Skins to exercise this option because it could shorten the 2015 runway for him also. Lets say he starts the first 4 or 5 games doesn't demonstrate real improvement in processing speed over 2014. He's still taking too long figuring out what do and drifting into rushers like in 2014 if that is the case I could see where the coach, GM and even Snyder decide they've seen enough. They might KNOW they're aren't going to pay 16M so they bench him and evaluate McCoy or Cousins to find out if one of these guys can be a decent starter or if we definitely need to draft one high in 2016.

Maybe they have already concluded McCoy and Cousins aren't even mediocre starter material, I don't know. To me Cousins sans the interception binges might be okay, I don't know if they can fix that problem, and I didn't see enough of McCoy to know. They pulled McCoy the instant Griffin was available, would McCoy have gotten on a roll if they didn't rush Griffin back? I don't know but I think McCoy's first outings are more definitive to me than his last.

I'm not saying that pulling this option could cause the Skins to give Robert the hook early but it seems it forces the issue to some extent. If he doesn't show some improvement in the first 4 to 6 games they might KNOW they aren't going to pay 16M so they quit on him before he can demonstrate modest improvement during the last third of the season. If they are looking at the possibility of extending him at a much cheaper rate maybe he gets more time in 2015. The 5 year option is an interesting dynamic now that I understand it.

the decision was made because it's best for the franchise - nobody (except his family) cares whether it's good or bad for Griffin

Griffin gets to show he's the man or he's gone - but if he really is a very good QB, this decision is better for the Redskins

it's like my man said earlier - this is a win win for the franchise

and a little stick in the eye for the haters and the media

I agree with both SkinsJock and OldSchool. He probably was happy to get the money and get support, but he knows if he's struggling that money is gone. He seems to be a gamer and likes the challenge so he might embrace it. If he is closer to 2012, Redskins can get him for a deal on their choosing. Win Win. Only way its a loss is if he has a career ending injury, but that would just be sad for everyone.

The redskins do not want the Griffin of 2012 - they want a QB that can read defenses - Griffin has never been that kind of QB

we need him to be the type of QB that can be more effective in the pro style game and he's absolutely got to change the way he plays

PFT is in agreement:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... t-benched/

Option year makes RGIII more likely to get benched
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 28, 2015, 5:40 AM EDT

Washington’s decision to pick up the fifth-year option on Robert Griffin III isn’t necessarily a good thing for the quarterback’s long-term development. In fact, it makes it more likely that Griffin will be benched this year.

The option gives Griffin a $16.2 million salary for 2016, and that salary is guaranteed in the case of an injury — but not guaranteed if he’s healthy and the team decides to cut him. Which means that the worst-case scenario, from the team’s perspective, is that Griffin struggles and plays badly enough that they would like to cut him, but he suffers an injury that forces them to pay him anyway.

That means if Griffin struggles early in the season, coach Jay Gruden is going to have a quick hook. The team simply can’t afford to stick with Griffin and risk him blowing out his knee again, which would put them in a position where they’re both looking for a new quarterback next year and on the hook for Griffin’s $16.2 million salary.

Gruden has said that Griffin will enter training camp as the starter, but there’s no guarantee he won’t be benched for Colt McCoy or Kirk Cousins. If Griffin shows early in the season that he’s not up to the job, Washington will get him off the field to protect him from injury — and protect the team from having to pay him next year.

I was opposed to the Skins doing this until I read the article that explained it that Riggo posted. This is really an enormous carrot and stick for Griffin. A huge inducement for him to bare down and learn how to read defenses and react quickly enough to be effective in the pocket because a 16.1M pay day is out there for him. But also an enormous stick because if he doesn't come out of the blocks showing substantial improvement I think this deal will pressure the Skins to bench him rather than risk injury to an mediocre or ineffective quarterback that will cost them 16.1M if he gets busted up again.

I think if I was a Griffin booster I'd be unhappy with this deal I'd want him to have more time to show progress than the first half of the season and I doubt he gets more that 7 or 8 games unless he's better.

too much is being made of the injury risk - there was a recent piece written that pointed to players being injured in one season and not being able to play the next - does not really happen all that much

let's not sugar coat this - it's not about the potential for injury ... it's all about Griffin being able to show that he offers the potential to be the type of QB that the Redskins franchise wants - if Griffin shows improvement from last season, they can then decide how much more work is required to help him become the QB they need and how best to go about that given that the franchise is building an offensive line and defense

Robert Griffin is basically developing as a QB and the guys that know what he is and what he can do better than anyone here will carefully evaluate him and what he might be capable of

If Griffin does not quickly show that he is worth working with, they will not keep him out because he might get injured, they will let him go

Apart from learning how to play the game differently and better read defenses, Griffin REALLY needs to learn to play in a manner that minimizes the chance of injury like a lot of other QBs do - that's part of what he has to do - that's all part of the evaluation here

If they decide he's going to be worth working with and in doing so he should get injured - that's just part of the game

I don't think that Griffin is injury prone (like many here do) - he flat out needs to learn not to take the risks he's been taking

OldSchool wrote:I think if I was a Griffin booster I'd be unhappy with this deal I'd want him to have more time to show progress than the first half of the season and I doubt he gets more that 7 or 8 games unless he's better.

I think of it differently. Robert has a legitimate chance to be the man the start of the season with less controversy. All 3 qbs got a chance last year. If Robert does a good job he will get rewarded. If he doesn't, then its CLOSURE. Figure someone else out, I don't think Kirk or Colt is the answer.

who determines if a player hurt in 2015 can play in 2016? I don't have a clue how this works and that is material to assessing how big a risk the Skins are assuming. But If It was my money and Griffin came out of the blocks playing the same in 2015 as he did as 2014 I wouldn't give him too many games to show progress. I wouldn't want to risk him getting hurt if he was still mediocre because they got 2 other guys that are mediocre to use in 2015 who wouldn't lock me into wasting 16M in 2016. Obviously a guy that was mediocre before getting injured in 2015 would have an incentive not to rush back from a another major injury if he could be cut if rehabbed but get 16M if still on the mend.

Just to be clear here since I've been maybe Griffin's harshest critic on this board I don't want to see this young get hurt, absolutely not. If he plays I hope he is better so this team starts to win and we have some fun watching them in 2015. I didn't renew my tickets after 2013 and won't be getting season tickets this year either but I'd love to see them start to win and be fun to follow again. I weighed in on this topic because it is an interesting roster management dynamic.

OldSchool wrote:who determines if a player hurt in 2015 can play in 2016? I don't have a clue how this works and that is material to assessing how big a risk the Skins are assuming.

Weirdly enough, its the Redskins' medical team. If he gets hurt in 2015, he has to be able to pass a team physical by the start of the 2016 year (~ March 10th 2016).

I guess we've covered all the different facets of this decision now and it seems to me this decision is in my mind another positive contribution from Scot. Maybe they would've taken this step without Scot but I am hoping that this another decision Scot led.

How about we draft Petty and send Bob3 back to Baylor....?

Rapsheet: Bryce Petty flying up draft boards
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Baylor QB Bryce Petty is flying up draft boards.
Rapsheet says there's a "real chance" Petty goes in Round 1. It shouldn't be a huge surprise, as quarterbacks typically gain steam closer to the draft and Petty has the physical tools to project as an NFL starter, even if he needs a year or two of development. He's been linked to the Saints at No. 31 overall.