Since leading the Redskins to a division title and the playoffs as a rookie in 2012, Robert Griffin III has gone from savior to pariah. He currently finds himself buried on the depth chart behind Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy, and it's difficult to imagine he'll be in DC under any circumstances in 2016.
Griffin's slide can be traced back to injuries, bad luck and attitude. NBC Sports NFL analyst and former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison addressed that last point -- and contrasted it with Cousins' demeanor -- during a recent radio appearance on CBS Sports Radio's Spiegel and Goff Show.
"Well, first and foremost, we see every week that there's a lot of bad quarterback play, so I think we're used to that," Harrison said in response to a comment about how Cousins doesn't face the same scrutiny that Griffin did when he was a (struggling) starter. "What we don't see is guys being jerks at the quarterback position. And Robert Griffin III was a jerk. He was a flat-out jerk. And when you look at Kirk Cousins, he comes and he says all the right things. And he's trying, he's fighting, his team is out there supporting him, he's doing everything he can to win.
"We understand that you're not going to be Tom Brady, you're not a future Hall of Famer,” Harrison continued. "But I think we do respect that a guy's out there fighting. You look at [Josh] McCown for the Cleveland Browns; he didn't play particularly well a couple weeks ago, he comes back and throws for [457] yards or whatever it was. But I think we respect guys that work hard and try to do the right thing and stay humble. Robert Griffin didn't do that, and he lost the respect of his teammates, as well as the guys in the media."
Harrison didn't specify why RG3 was a jerk, but this isn't the first time we've heard that he doesn't always play nicely with others. In February, then-Washington Post columnist Jason Reid wrote that Griffin "is one of the least self-aware people you'll ever meet, and his ineptitude in the pocket the past two seasons was outmatched only by his ego."
But any of RG3's social awkwardness -- perceived or otherwise -- would be easy to over look if he was playing well. As it stands, he's not even playing.
"I've seen enough. I don't think he fits in the system. I think you have to get rid of him," Harrison said last November, via the Washington Post. "They've surrounded [Griffin] with great weapons. I just think it comes down to RG3. I don't think he can read coverages. The offensive line is really bad. Defensively they gave up a lot of plays. They have a lot of issues on this team."
Now, 11 months later, they have fewer issues -- Griffin's on the bench and the offensive line and defense have been pleasant surprises through five games.
