Heisman busts: 12 biggest Heisman Trophy winners who flamed out in the NFL
By John Buhler
Pick Analysis. player. Robert Griffin III. 4. 860. Scouting Report. Quarterback. Baylor Bears, 2011
When we look back on the history of football, we will admire what a great two-year run it was for Robert Griffin III, first with the Baylor Bears in 2011 and then with the Washington Redskins in 2012. But after that, he was clearly more bust than boom as an NFL quarterback. His rookie year with Washington was exceptional, as the Redskins went on a run to the NFC playoffs.
Washington won the NFC East and hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card round. However, Griffin would succumb to yet another knee injury in that first-round loss and was never the same player for the Redskins. He would end up losing his job to fellow 2012 NFL Draft classmate Kirk Cousins and would be out of football for a year in 2017.
Griffin’s last year in the nation’s capital was in 2015, which was when Cousins took the reins over for him, while he watched from the sidelines as an inactive player. He spent the 2016 NFL season on the Cleveland Browns and currently serves as Lamar Jackson’s backup with the Baltimore Ravens. He has been humbled and does well in his current role, but he’ll never be what he was.
Besides the injuries, what did Griffin in was multi-pronged. He was Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s favorite, so that clearly alienated him from the rest of his Washington teams. Most importantly, his simplified Baylor offense failed him in his attempt to get ready for the NFL. After a year being propped up by the Shanahans, it was all smoke and mirrors for RGIII in the NFL.