Washington quarterback-turned-scout team safety Robert Griffin III would be available in a deadline trade if anyone wanted him. But no one wants him.
Or, more precisely, no one wants his contract.
Josina Anderson of ESPN reports that Washington has received a grand total of zero calls from other teams about making a trade for Griffin. The trade deadline is today at 4 p.m. ET.
It’s not that no team thinks Griffin has potential, despite the fact that he’s been demoted to third-string quarterback behind Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy. But no team would be willing to take on the enormous risk in Griffin’s contract: If Griffin were to suffer a serious injury this year, he would be guaranteed a 2016 salary of $16.155 million. That’s a total non-starter for any NFL team.
And that points to how foolish it was of Washington to pick up the fifth-year option on Griffin. If Griffin didn’t have that enormous injury guarantee, some team might be willing to trade for him in the hopes that he could show some promise this year and then sign an extension for next year and beyond. Instead, Griffin will spend this year on the sidelines in Washington and be released after the season is over. He’ll sign with some other team in the spring, and Washington will get nothing.