Should The Washington Redskins Trade Robert Griffin?

Fast forward to present day. The Washington Redskins have a new coaching staff and have added some more talent to their roster. Still, it seems as if Washington must win their division if they have any hopes of returning to the playoffs. The NFC is too good and too deep for Washington to compete for a Wild Card spot. While this might sound a little crazy, I propose this move to you: TRADE ROBERT GRIFFIN WHILE YOU CAN.

You’re probably thinking that that is ludicrous, but hear me out. There is no question that Griffin is an athletic freak. There aren’t too many quarterbacks in the NFL that can do what he can do. The only problem with Griffin is he often gets injured. He has suffered from multiple injuries, including two ACL injuries (one in college).

Despite the multiple knee injuries that he has faced, his trade value is still incredibly high. Washington could easily receive multiple first round draft picks for the services of Griffin. If you take a look at the St. Louis Rams after the trade with Washington, you could easily say that they received the better side of the deal. After making a few more trades with the picks received from Washington, St. Louis ended up filling out their roster with key starters such as Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree, Zac Stacy and Greg Robinson (this year’s first pick).

If the Redskins can find a team to trade Griffin to for multiple first round draft picks, Washington could end up in the same situation as St. Louis; multiple first round picks, with endless possibilities to continue build their roster. As I said earlier, the NFC is extremely deep. All four teams in the NFC West could make the playoffs. The NFC North has Chicago, Green Bay and an up and coming Minnesota team. And of course, the NFC South, which features the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons. Out of those ten teams, only six of them can make the playoffs. The Redskins are not better than any of those teams.

Trading RGIII for multiple draft picks will give the team the opportunity to rebuild and restructure their current roster. With the added picks, they have a great opportunity to add more youth to their defense. For a better part of last season, the Washington Redskins defense was absent. The defense allowed twenty-seven or more points in nine out of their sixteen games. That’s not exactly what I would call a winning formula.

Washington also already has RGIII’s replacement on their roster in Cousins. In the past, Washington has turned down trade offers for Cousins. Clearly, the team greatly values him. Also, new head coach Jay Gruden is a quarterback guru, so he can help Cousins further progress..

While trading Griffin for multiple picks could help strengthen their roster, Washington would be giving up on of the top young talents in the league. It is a risky move to get rid of him, but it is also extremely risky to keep him. Of course you don’t want to lose out on a player like Griffin, but at the same time he has suffered from a variety of injuries, including two ACL surgeries. If Washington gets a call on whether Griffin is available or not, picking up the phone isn’t the worst idea.

I don’t think this will happen, but it’s a pretty interesting discussion.