This is arguably the most important season for Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III. It can go one of two ways: either Griffin balls out and proves that he is the franchise quarterback the Redskins thought he was going to be when they drafted him in 2012 or he will fail and the team will move on from him.
In an interview with Jeff Darlington of NFL Network, Griffin says he isn't worried about the team picking up his option for next season, which sounds like he is betting on himself to do well this year.
"I wouldn't be bummed," Griffin said. "Either way, we're going out there to prove it this upcoming year — not next year. I just want to win. I want to win games and have fun doing it. The rest will take care of itself. They can pick up the option — or they can decide not to pick up the option. It'll work out either way. I'm focused on this year."
This is the final year of Griffin's rookie deal, but he does have a team option in his contract for 2016. The one dilemma for Washington is the fact that it has to exercise the option by May 3. It would be shocking if they decided to exercise the option by that date.
It's risky if the Redskins don't, though. A good year means he will get a big contract on the open market, which means the team will have to break the bank if it wants to keep him. But if the Redskins do exercise it and he fails, he's on the books for $16 million. There's also this, deciding not to pick up his option puts the team at risk for losing him to free agency if he performs well. Not having a good quarterback on your roster could set the team back even further.
If he fails, though, Griffin's promise he showed in his rookie season would seem like an eternity ago.
