reporters on the 2012 Rams/Washington trade

Rams have no regrets about Redskins trade

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14308/rams-have-no-regrets-about-redskins-trade

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Although the St. Louis Rams have exhausted all of the additional draft choices they received from the Washington Redskins in the 2012 megatrade that landed Robert Griffin III in the nation’s capital, they haven’t yet received all of the dividends.

It hasn’t yet been three years since the Rams and Redskins consummated the trade that sent the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft to Washington in exchange for the Redskins first- and second-round picks that year and Washington’s first-round choice in 2013 and 2014. More time is probably needed to determine a winner but from the Rams’ perspective, it certainly appears to be shaping up as a major decision in their favor even if it doesn’t reach knockout status.

“[We have] no regrets,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “At the time it was a good deal for us and it was a good deal for Washington.”

At the time, it also appeared both teams were going to be set at quarterback as the Redskins got the chance to draft Griffin and the Rams backed Sam Bradford as their franchise signal-caller. What’s interesting is that for all the players that ended up in St. Louis in the deal and even after Griffin’s rookie-year success, quarterback is now a major question mark for both teams.

While quarterback has again become a need for both sides, the Rams are the team to come out of the deal with five current starters and eight players total after using those picks to make subsequent trades. Those starters include defensive tackle Michael Brockers, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Alec Ogletree, receiver Stedman Bailey and left tackle Greg Robinson.

“It’s interesting,” Fisher said. “We drafted eight players, seven of which are on our roster. But, I think you have to look past that. We’ve got defensive starters. More importantly than that because of those that we drafted through the trade with Washington, we were able to do some other things. For example, Zac Stacy was one of those players that we acquired through one of those picks. Without Zac here, it’s probably unlikely that we go and draft Tre Mason. We have depth there and we can afford to do that now. So, we’re able to shape our roster way beyond just the actual picks that we got from them.”

None of those players have yet developed into stars though Ogletree, Jenkins, Brockers and Robinson have showed varying signs of potential at different points in their young careers. Bailey has become a valuable piece of the offense in recent weeks and also looks to be a key contributor moving forward.

“How’s ‘Tree’ doing and [WR Stedman Bailey] ‘Sted’ doing and how’s Zac doing? I think, Greg’s going to be our future left tackle for a long time,” Fisher said. “I can’t say enough about it. Brock’s recent performance last week, we gave him a game ball. He had eight tackles and was a big factor in the ball game. Very pleased with how they’ve come along.”

Pead and Rokevious Watkins haven’t contributed much and that combination remains the sore thumb of the group considering the Rams traded down in the second round to take Pead and recoup the pick they eventually used on Watkins. In doing so, they forfeited a chance to draft linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is now a star for division rival Seattle. Pead is on injured reserve but hasn’t performed to his draft position when he’s played. Watkins is no longer with the team.

Griffin, meanwhile, has not been the star that many presumed he would be for the Redskins. He did lead Washington to the playoffs as a rookie but injuries have slowed him and he’s been benched for Colt McCoy in recent weeks. For what it’s worth, Fisher believes Griffin could still get his career back on track.

“Any quarterback that’s going to go through significant injuries like he did and two offensive philosophy changes, scheme changes, I think that’s hard,” Fisher said. “I don’t believe you’ve seen the last of him. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good quarterback.”

But even if Griffin does reach that level, Fisher, general manager Les Snead and the Rams will never look back at the trade as one they shouldn’t have made.

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RG III trade hasn’t worked for Redskins

By John Keim | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/13563/rg-iii-trade-hasnt-worked-for-redskins

ASHBURN, Va. — The desire was understandable and remains so even now. The Washington Redskins needed a quarterback after going more than 20 years without one who could be labeled as a franchise guy. They had a bold, aggressive owner. They were within shouting distance of the top of a draft that, by all accounts, would yield two outstanding quarterbacks.

This was their chance.

But that’s where it gets tricky. That’s where the second-guessing enters, in a massive way. At the time the Redskins celebrated their trade with St. Louis — giving up the No. 6 overall pick plus their second-rounder and two future first-rounders in exchange for the No. 2 overall choice. It was a steep, steep price to pay — and one that, if the move failed, would haunt the franchise for years.

Selecting Robert Griffin III at No. 2 in the draft was a no-brainer. At the time there was debate about whether he should be rated ahead of Andrew Luck, who went first to the Indianapolis Colts. Heck, Football Outsiders echoed what many said: The trade was a risk, but Griffin was one of the best quarterbacks to come out of the draft in perhaps a decade. Not many disagreed with that notion, but giving up what the Redskins did to move ahead four spots was the tough call.

Even after the trade, it’s not as if everyone said, or wrote, that it was a bad move. There were dissenting opinions, but certainly not all (my take: A necessary move given the chance to grab a guy who, by all accounts, would be terrific; yes, they paid too much but look at what had taken place the previous 20 years).

“It’s been tough and I feel for our fans and in many times we haven’t been successful and we’re trying to get it right,” Redskins general manager Bruce Allen said at the time of the trade, “and I think we had a big step to get it right.”

The real problem occurred a month or so later. When the Redskins made the trade, they had approximately $40 million of cap space. But right before free agency began, the NFL slapped them with a penalty, taking away $36 million of cap room over the next two seasons. While the Redskins still had some cap space in 2012, a lot of it was devoted toward re-signing their own players. Had they known this, I doubt there would have been a trade — then-coach Mike Shanahan would have pushed hard to block the deal. No one in the organization wants to talk about it now; head coach Jay Gruden obviously was in Cincinnati at the time and Allen has declined requests.

But when they initially made the trade, multiple sources say there was not unanimity, at least not among those below the front-office level. Those who had scouted the quarterbacks felt Griffin would take time to develop because of the system he played in at Baylor, a spread offense that had traditionally produced gaudy stats but few NFL quarterbacks of note. They knew it was a risk. They knew it could be a move that would make or break careers. There’s a reason they still pursued then free agent Peyton Manning and drafted another quarterback that April (Kirk Cousins). Still, at the time, they expressed excitement about Griffin and what he could do.

After one year it looked as if it would make them. Coordinator Kyle Shanahan was praised for his offensive creativity and one member of the organization, after beating the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East title, said Griffin would “get guys paid.” As in: promotions, whether in Washington or elsewhere. They knew he was a player still developing but one who had already delivered and, certainly, would improve. You can’t rewrite everything on what Griffin has done in Washington, or what people thought two years ago.

Back then, he looked like the face of the franchise for a decade — a successful player and marketing machine — and maybe even the NFL. But one word followed Griffin before the draft that scared some evaluators and general managers at the time: durability. One scout said recently he never liked the trade because of concerns over Griffin’s durability. Griffin is a lean guy who already had an ACL tear who liked to run. Tough combo.

Sure enough, Griffin has not played as well since tearing multiple ligaments in his knee during a playoff loss his rookie season. Whether that’s the reason for his downfall, or the inability to develop in the passing game — brought about, depending whom you talk to, by his injury or a belief that he was already at a certain level as a passer — the fact remains that Griffin has not played well the past two seasons.

Now he’s benched and his future in Washington is murky. Even if he remains here in 2015, which is not guaranteed, the coaches still feel he’ll take a long time to develop.

The book is not closed on Griffin’s story, but that story thus far suggests one thing: The Redskins struck out. They still have a need at quarterback.