Washington Reportedly "Likely to Pick Up" Robert Griffin III's Fifth-Year Option for 2016
By Jason Lisk
The Washington Redskins are “likely to pick up” Robert Griffin’s fifth-year option for 2016, according to Albert Breer. The deadline for exercising that option is before May 3rd. The Colts have already exercised the option on Andrew Luck in what was a no-brainer; the Dolphins have yet to officially make the same move with Ryan Tannehill.
The fifth-year option amount for this year is $16.155 million for a quarterback drafted top 10 in the 2012 draft. It is guaranteed for injury only until the start of the 2016 league year.
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Of course, therein lies the rub, especially when it comes to Robert Griffin III and his history of knee injuries. They can still release him before the start of the 2016 league season begins if he just doesn’t get any better and is not worth the money. However, if he is hurt, well . . .
As this piece by Chris Russell of ESPN 980 says: “It ‘all hinges on his ability to pass the end-of-year physical.'”
Another serious knee injury, for example, would make him unlikely to pass a physical at the end of the season. Then you have the gray areas. What if he is hurt at the end of the season, with something like a serious concussion, and then the team is incentivized to pass him a month later so they could cut him? It seems like a risky proposition given his injury history.
It will also lead to a situation where Washington will be incentivized to shut him down early to not risk having that provision triggered, if he struggles early. We’ve seen him shut down early in 2013 by Mike Shanahan under the guise of preserving his future. We also saw him get benched last year only to be named the starter again this offseason.
There is plenty of disagreement over whether Washington should exercise the option. While the guarantee is injury only for the next several months, I don’t think that I would make that choice if I were Washington. If Griffin were to have a breakout year and stay healthy, you still have the franchise tag option and nothing prevents the team from reaching a contract agreement. This year, the QB franchise tag number was about $18.5 million.
Yes, we don’t know what next year’s number, but is the risk of paying an additional $2.5 million (and yes, losing flexibility to use it on a different player) worth the risk of paying out $16.5 million to an injury-prone player you won’t want? And that doesn’t even get into the discussion of whether he would be worth that amount to begin with.
Nevertheless, Washington appears like they might be ready to start the latest drama chapter with Robert Griffin III.