Despite the rumors linking the Washington Redskins to Marcus Mariota in the 2015 NFL draft, quarterback Robert Griffin III is confident he's still "the guy" in D.C.
Griffin's fantastic rookie season in 2012 feels like a distant memory. The 2013 and 2014 seasons were brutal for the signal caller, and what seemed unfathomable in 2012 is now a distinct possibility: the Redskins may move on from Griffin. Coach Jay Gruden's assurances Griffin will start in 2015 somehow ring hollow, as if the second-year coach is going through all the motions of publicly supporting Griffin just to avoid a controversy in the media.
Given how Gruden openly criticized Griffin multiple times last season, the whispers linking Washington to Mariota don't come across as surprising. Nonetheless, despite all the outside chatter, Griffin is confident about his future with the burgundy-and-gold.
"The way I look at it is as long as I'm here with the Washington Redskins and they say I'm the guy, then I'm the guy," Griffin told Fox News on Sunday, according to the Washington Post. "I'm ready to go."
The Redskins-Mariota rumors began when ESPN's John Clayton reported in March the Redskins would take the Oregon quarterback if he were still on the board when the team picks No. 5.
"Honestly, (people say Mariota) may fall to the Jets; he's not gonna fall to the Jets at six, I'll tell you this right now," Clayton said. "The Redskins will take him at (No.) five. Dan Snyder may not think there's quarterback issues; Jay Gruden and everybody else in the front office thinks there's quarterback issues. And if Marcus Mariota falls to five - now it's not a position where they're desperate enough to trade up to get him - but if he falls to 5, I'm telling you this right now, they'll take him."
Gruden has never ruled out the possibility of making a quarterback change, and a report in March from CSN Washington's Rich Tandler indicated Gruden has made sure Griffin knows the starting quarterback job isn't his by right.
Fortunately for Griffin, few if any draft analysts project Mariota still being on the board by the fifth pick.
