Washington Redskins Rumors: RG3 Trade To Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles Options For Robert Griffin III If Colt McCoy Starts?

Dec 02, 2014 01:12 PM EST

The Washington Redskins and the future of RG3 is up in the air and if the team opts to trade or release Robert Griffin III with Colt McCoy now getting starts, teams like the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns could be potential options, as the Redskins have had another very tough season and RGIII may not be the answer anymore.

The Redskins opted to start Colt McCoy on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts and the absence of Robert Griffin III was even more stark because of who the team lined up against. Andrew Luck was taken one pick before RG3 and his career has been much more successful so far than RG3. While the two looked comparable after Griffin's rookie season, things have gone completely off the rails for RG3, as Luck has been the exact opposite of him: healthy and a winner.

Now the Redskins may have to make a very tough decision, as there is a contract option coming up on Griffin that could cost upwards of $15 million if they pick it up. According to Pro Football Talk, the team has options apart from that option, including signing Griffin to a new extension, trading Griffin, releasing Griffin or signing him to a contract with numerous incentives. Of course the team could also keep Griffin and see what happens along with the option, but that could wreak some havoc on the salary cap.

The Redskins gave up a boatload of picks to trade for Griffin a few years ago and that could lead the team to ask for a major package to deal him. That could be a problem since Griffin has seemingly regressed a great deal since his rookie season and with Colt McCoy starting, it doesn't even give the Redskins a chance to let Griffin inflate (or deflate) his value. The team is a mess right now at 3-9 and while they lost last week, McCoy actually looked good in the offense, going for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts.

Grantland.com put together a long article about the future of Griffin and they identified a number of teams that could be interested in acquiring him fi the Redskins go that route. The Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all were on the list and other teams could look at a deal as well. The Texans have questions at the position even with Ryan Mallett there, while it wouldn't be crazy to see Chip Kelly make a move over Nick Foles or Mark Sanchez at this point.

While a deal is unlikely, it looks like things have hit a major crossroad in Washington when it comes to Griffin. Jay Gruden is in his first coaching job and he has had to walk a fine line with what the franchise wants, what the owner wants, what he wants as a head coach and what is the best move for the team now to win games. McCoy has clearly played better, but with Griffin being the franchise player, it has caused some major questions in the nation's capital. 

Get the Most Popular Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
Array

Join the Conversation

  • Get Connected
  • Share
  • Like Us on Facebook
  • @sportswr
  • Recommend on Google
Real Time Analytics