NFL

The Redskins Bet Their Future On Robert Griffin, Land #2 Pick Overall In Blockbuster

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Rams have a deal in place to trade the No. 2 pick of the upcoming NFL Draft to the Redskins. As one might expect, the pick won’t come cheap for Washington, which swaps first round spots with the Rams this year but gives up two future first-rounders.

In other words, Robert Griffin better be good.

Because with all due respect to talents like Matt Kalil and Trent Richardson, the Redskins unmistakably made this move with Griffin in mind. A potential franchise quarterback outweighs everything else in football, and now the Redskins will have one. It means Griffin will be the face of the franchise. He’ll create fan excitement. And it means he’ll be under a ton of pressure. It’s no secret the Redskins have been mostly terrible for years now, and as soon as the team (presumably) calls Griffin’s name, it’ll be clear exactly who they’re charging with changing that.

Something else this trade has to mean: whatever slim chance Peyton Manning might have had of going the Redskins evaporated with this news. This trade represents the Skins making their move for a quarterback. They’re done now.

And Griffin might be great. He put up gigantic numbers at Baylor, completed over 72 percent of his passes in 2011, and he’s a terrific athlete as well. Sure, his success in the NFL will depend on his adaptation to a pro-style offense, but the potential is there for him to be a franchise cornerstone for the next decade-plus. We don’t say this terribly often about the Redskins in the Dan Snyder age, but this move? This is a move we can get behind.