Written by Dan Steinberg and Scott Allen at Washington Post.com
In his most reflective and expansive comments on his polarizing tenure in Washington, former Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III said Monday that he was drafted by a coach that didn’t want him and by a team that wasn’t sold on him, and that the short life span of his time in Washington wasn’t in the best interest of either him or the organization.
During a nearly 30-minute interview with 106.7 The Fan, Griffin said repeatedly that he made many mistakes during his Redskins tenure, and he praised the city, the fan base and his former teammates. But he expressed frustration with the portrayal of his behavior in Washington and with the local media for continuing to mention his name.
“It’s really you guys, honestly. It’s the local D.C. media, constantly pulling my name into things,” he told Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier, while explaining his series of cryptic Sunday night tweets about the team. “I was a pro’s pro my last year there, didn’t make any noise with the team, did everything I possibly could, played scout team safety, ran routes for the QBs that weren’t playing and were active. And I felt like there’s no need for my name to be dragged in the dirt with those types of things anymore.”
In detailing his own shortcomings, Griffin went through things both on the field (his inability to stay healthy) and off (knowing what to say to the media and when to say it). He said he still hopes to play more football, and that he continues to work out in Florida to that end. He said he continues to root for the Redskins, and that he’ll always be linked to the franchise and to this city. But he pushed back on how he’s been portrayed in some media accounts, talking about his dedication to studying film and taking issue with suggestions that he demanded read-option plays be eliminated from the team’s offense in a meeting after his rookie season.
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