Dec 29 2011; San Antonio, TX, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) looks to pass against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter of the Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome. Baylor beat Washington 67-56. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE
In his first interview given to Washington’s ESPN 980 since joining the Redskins, Kyle Shanahan was rather upfront about the franchise’s plans for the future and gave a number of hints as to the direction the team would take in 2012. That direction may be going stray from the public belief. The Redskins could choose to not pursue quarterback prospect Robert Griffin III.
Talking to ESPN 980′s Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro, Kyle Shanahan made a number of statements including this about going and getting a franchise quarterback:
“Everybody wants a franchise quarterback but there’s only about ten of them on the planet. People make alot of mistakes going and trying to trade away or pay alot of money to people who really aren’t that.”
Reading between the lines, it appears that Shanahan is not in favor of overpaying for a quarterback which would appear to rule out the rumor that Washington will be trading up in the draft to get Robert Griffin III. Later in the interview, Shanahan elaborated:
“We’re not just one player away. We (have) got to get better and we (have) got to get better at all positions. The main thing you gotta do is not miss. (We can’t get) enamored with ‘we need the quarterback, people say we do, let’s go get one’”
In the 2011 draft, the Redskins traded down to acquire more picks and it would not be shocking if they do the same this year given what Shanahan’s comments. But this begs the question – if the Redskins don’t trade up for Griffin, what will they do at quarterback?
Unfortunately for Redskins fans, Kyle Shanahan still has faith in what he has in-house.
“I feel pretty much the same way about Rex (Grossman) as I did a year ago. The one thing I give Rex (Grossman) credit (for) is he gave us a chance to win games.”
Still, Redskins fans shouldn’t fear too much. Redskins management isn’t “enamored” with Grossman either. With the Redskins quarterback a free agent once again, Shanahan’s focus is not on Grossman.
“I don’t really have any expectations (of Grossman re-signing) right now. What I’m doing is going out and trying to find something better.”
So when it comes to the Washington Redskins, the future is now a little clearer. While team management still believes in Rex Grossman, expect them to be aggressive both in the draft and free agency. With a ton of cap space and one of the highest revenues in the NFL, the Redskins are a team to watch in the 2012 offseason.
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Tags: Kyle Shanahan, NFL, NFL News, rex grossman, rg3, robert griffin iii, Washington Redskins
Chris was born on the sunny shores of Gisborne, New Zealand and now lives in the southern city of Dunedin. After stints of study at Massey and Canterbury Universities, a brief amount of training with both the New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Navy as well as completing a Diploma of Radio Broadcasting at the New Zealand Radio Training School, Chris is now a stay-at-home writer. Along with his numerous contributions for NFL Spin Zone, Chris is currently working on several writing projects and is hoping to be published in the future.
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Josh Sanchez
Why do I get the feeling that the Skins are going to be starting Grossman, Orton or Campbell in 2012?
@Gizzy_DJ I have decided to believe that it’s a smoke screen. They don’t want to tip their hand.
Fdwarren
KylenShanahan is an idiot who only has his job because of his dad. He has been enameled with Grossman since day one and he has shown he knows nothing about talent in QBs. Make the team better: fire Kyle!
@Fdwarren Kyle shanahan has his job because he rightfully earned it…he ran the offense in houston that was the best passing offense in the league…while i disagree with him about grossman because im tired of the 2 turns/game, but i do believe he’s the best offensive we’ve had here since Gibbs I…and if you would get over ur hate for shanahan u might be able to see that!…anybody who cries nepotism is an ABSOLUTE F’N MORON
I believe this is a smokescreen as well to hopefully get teams off the scent that the skins will draft RG3, so it wont cost as much to get him
I’ll add a few more thoughts here.
For one – nepotism IS the reason Kyle has his job but not in the way warren described. In the interview, Kyle says he took the job because he wanted a chance to work with his old man before he retired. Having said that, he did indeed run a highly successful offense in Houston and doesn’t deserve to be labelled as having his job only because of his dad.
BUT…
If things don’t go well it may well be that the only reason Kyle KEEPS his job is because Snyder doesn’t want to fire Mike. Nepotism is a factor here. It’s just not the only factor.
As for this being a smokescreen – tell me, how are the Skins gonna get RG3 cheaper by convincing people they don’t want RG3 when in reality as soon as they made overtures to go and get RG3 the price immediately goes back up and we’re back where we started?
of course there gettn peyton manning
I’d say Washington is definitely up there in the Manning Sweepstakes. Washington, Arizona, Miami and the darkhorse is the Baltimore Ravens.
I have been a life long Skins fan, but if they start the season with Grossman, I am done.. They owe their fans the minimum of trying to compete…