All the hype surrounding Robert Griffin III’s comeback this season has faded. The Washington Redskins’ season has ended in turmoil, RGIII finished the season watching from the bench and coach Mike Shanahan was fired.
After a 3-10 start, Shanahan named Kirk Cousins the starting quarterback and deactivated RGIII for the rest of the season. Cousins, the Redskins’ back up for the last two seasons, had started only one game prior to this season, leading the Redskins to victory over the Browns last year. But this year, his luck faded, losing all three of his starting games.
So do Redskins fans have anything to look forward to?
Cousins’ performance in the last three games of the season was middling at best and his trade stock has plummeted. Redskins fans can look forward to a hectic offseason of coaching searches, quarterback drama and unexciting draft picks.
Coming off knee surgery, it’s hard to argue that RGIII did not go through a sophomore slump. He held on to the ball too long in the pocket and took risks at the wrong time. As a result, out of 32 teams, the Redskins’ offense finished 23rd in the league in points scored and 17th in passing yards. RGIII has also been sacked 24 times in the last five games, a league high. For the season, the Redskins rank 27th in pass protection.
After Washington’s first playoff appearance since 2007 last year, expectations for this season were high. But the abysmal 3-13 finish gives the Redskins the second worst record in the NFL. And this record isn’t going towards a draft pick – in order to draft RGIII, the Redskins had to give up multiple draft picks, including their first round next year.
Towards the end of the season, Shanahan and owner Dan Snyder’s relationship was hurt beyond repair. At times it even seemed like Shanahan was throwing away the season, especially when he called the two-point conversion play that lost the Redskins their week 15 loss to the Falcons.
After the season Snyder gave Shanahan the hook, becoming the seventh Redskins coach to have been fired in the last 13 years.
Not only was this season a complete bust, but it looks like the offseason will be more of the same.