John Matthews
WMAL.com

ASHBURN, VA — (WMAL) This particular piece of news has been inevitable for seven months, but even now, it takes one’s breath away.

The Redskins have cut RGIII.

The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Rookie of the Year was informed Monday morning by the team that he has been released. Griffin can officially begin selling himself on the open market as the free agency period gets under way this week.

By cutting Griffin now, the Redskins will avoid having to pay RGIII a guaranteed $16.155 million dollar salary for the 2016 season.

Griffin’s fate was sealed last August when Redskins Coach Jay Gruden named Kirk Cousins to be the starter in 2015, and with Griffin’s future salary guaranteed in case of injury, the Redskins were careful to keep him from entering a game last season.

Coming off more than a decade of mediocre quarterback play, the Redskins moved up in the 2012 draft, trading three first round picks and one second round pick to the St. Louis Rams for the opportunity to take Griffin in the number two spot.

At first, it seemed like a brilliant move.

Griffin’s career took off like a rocket in 2012, as he led the Redskins to an NFC East title before tearing his ACL in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

RGIII returned to start the 2013 season, but it was clear he had not fully recovered from his knee injury. Griffin’s blazing speed had diminished, and by then he had developed a growing feud with then-coach Mike Shanahan that poisoned the team.

After the team parted ways with Shanahan, new coach Jay Gruden was brought in specifically to develop Griffin into a workable NFL quarterback, but Gruden, too, was unable to develop RGIII. Griffin was injured early in the 2014 season with a dislocated ankle, and was unable to grow once he did return to the lineup as the team finished with a 4 – 12 record.

Given one more shot, and with Gruden’s public support, Griffin spent the 2015 pre-season as the Redskins’s official starting quarterback. However, he proved ineffective and incapable of avoiding the rush. Griffin was diagnosed with a concussion following a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions, and that effectively spelled the end of Griffin’s career in Washington.

Shortly after he was cut, RGIII offered his goodbyes on Twitter. “It was a blessing guys,” Griffin wrote. “I just want to say thank you.”

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