The Washington Redskins were in a bidding war that they happily won. Their prize is the most electrifying and talented quarterbacks to come out of college since Michael Vick. The Redskins may have given up a lot of draft picks but this sacrifice was one with the future in mind.
For a franchise quarterback, there is almost no such thing as overpaying.
There are no guarantees in life. Robert Griffin III could very well be the next Ryan Leaf. He could be the next Alex Smith. Heck, I don’t even think Nostradamus were alive today he could tell us what’s in store for RGIII. Nevertheless, the Washington Redskins are doing the right thing.
I could go on for days about the follies of risking the future for the now. I chastised Hue Jackson for acquiring Carson Palmer. I questioned Julio Jones prior to Thomas Dimitroff’s draft day gamble. I lamented over Randy Moss’ return to Minnesota in the Brett Favre era.
However, this is different. It’s apples and oranges, cats and dogs, Toyota’s and Lexus’. Well, you get the picture.
Unlike the Hue Jackson led Raiders, the Redskins have not forfeited their future for a small window of opportunity. The Redskins gave up bits of their future to create a garage door sized opportunity for their franchise. Mike Shannahan and Co. may already be better off right now because of Robert Griffin but they have also put themselves in an extraordinary position for the next decade.
The NFL is a quarterback driven league. There is no denying it. Make whatever you want of the new rules but the fact of the matter is that the quarterback is king. Without a quarterback, you have about as much as chance of winning the Super Bowl as you do the lottery. It’s not overpaying if you’re solidifying the future of your franchise.
The league was a bit different back in the day but Mike Ditka should have known that a running back doesn’t lead a franchise to championships when he sold the farm, his house and the shirt off his back for Ricky Williams. Wide Receivers, they aren’t much different. They’re a dime a dozen.
Great quarterbacks, on the other hand, aren’t easy to get like an over the counter drug.
I’m not here to dissect RGIII’s tools but the Redskins are getting a guy with all the physical weapons to go along with an outstanding pedigree. His mother and father, both lawyers, have no doubt passed their intellect and work ethic onto their son. You see it in the way Griffin speaks and carries himself. This isn’t Ryan Leaf or Jamarcus Russell version 2.0, at least, no chance for the same kind of bust.
In a division as tough as the NFC East, the Redskins need a quarterback better than Rex Grossman and Jon Beck. They need a franchise quarterback to compete with Eli Manning, Michael Vick and Tony Romo. They couldn’t sit and wait for a player like Ryan Tannehill to develop for the next few years, hoping that one day he turns into a star when they had the opportunity to make the trade that they made yesterday. With quarterbacks, you have to go with as close as you can get to the sure thing.
Robert Griffin III just happens to be as close as it gets for the Washington Redskins.
I wouldn’t call giving up three 1st rounders and a 2nd round pick gutsy. I call it necessary.
20 yr old UBC Student. Live and breathe sports. My writing is edgy. Not the typical stuff you find. Hit up my blog - Painting the Black - you won't regret it. Follow @paintstheblack
