Looking Back At The Robert Griffin III Trade

This Sunday the St. Louis Rams play the Washington Redskins. While this will mostly be a meaningless matchup this Sunday, these two teams do have a history with each other. Back in 2012  Les Snead pulled off a trade that gave the Rams three first round picks and a second round pick and in return the Redskins moved up to the number two overall pick to take Robert Griffin III.

Who won or didnt win the Robert Griffin III trade will always be a debate, and although Griffin won’t even play in this year’s matchup, it will still be something that is bound to be discussed. While the Redskins did make the playoffs in Griffin III’s rookie year, a lot has changed since then and according to reports, there is a good chance that Griffin isn’t even in D.C. next year.

Since the trade the Redskins are 16-25 while the Rams are 19-24-1, neither team has a playoff victory, and neither team has their franchise quarterback. While the Redskins did make the playoffs in 2012 and Griffin did win the rookie of the year, a lot has changed, and if things don’t take a significant turn, you could mark him as the biggest bust since JaMarcus Russell or even a worse bust than Ryan Leaf.

The Redskins gave up a lot for Griffin III, and although it may not be all his fault that he hasn’t turned into their franchise guy, it has now been two coaches who haven’t been pleased with how the former Baylor quarterback plays the position.

In the trade the Rams received Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Isaiah Pead, Rokevious Watkins, Alec Ogletree, Stedman Bailey, Zac Stacy, and Greg Robinson. While the Rams certainly didnt hit on all of their picks(see Pead and Watkins), they have gotten some players that they can build around(see Brockers, Jenkins, and Ogletree).

“It wasn’t difficult for us. We looked at our roster and it wasn’t difficult to see that we had a lot of holes. So, it was easy for us to do.”-Jeff Fisher

The Rams have hit on all but one of two of those players, and five of those players should have large roles in the organization moving forward. Brockers will be the center of the defensive line for years to come while Jenkins covers the outside. If  Laurinaitis moves on from St. Louis, Ogletree will be the middleman and leader of the defense. On the offensive side of the ball Stedman Bailey has looked like he could be quite the offensive weapon and Greg Robinson looks to be the left tackle of the future.

The Rams have received five to six starters compared to the Redskins barely even one. Some will wonder, ‘what if the Rams stayed at two and took Robert Griffin III and traded Sam Bradford to the Browns?’ Nobody will ever know the answer.

The Rams roster was in pretty rough shape when Snead and Fisher came in and this trade helped rebuild it and is the reason why the Rams’ future looks so bright.