Robert Griffin III Likes Mentoring Lamar Jackson But Wants You To Know “I Don’t Plan on Being A Backup Forever”
For the youngins who don’t remember the rise and fall of Robert Griffin III, the story of his career started as a fairy tale. After winning the Heisman Trophy in 2011, he was taken second overall by Washington and immediately slotted in by Mike Shanahan as the starter (in his first game he was 19-26 for 320 and 2 TDs, with 10 carries for 42 yards in a 42-30 win). His rookie year was as promising as almost any in recent memory, and Washington entered the playoffs with a ton of hype. A late-season injury, however, sidelined him until the NFC Wild Card game against Seattle. And then this happened:
There may no fall from grace as drastic as RG3’s. His time at Baylor was legendary, his Heisman year was electric, and his rookie year in Washington was the last time any DC sports fan cared about their local NFL team. And then all of a sudden, RG3 was out in the cold, fighting for the 4th QB spot against players (Josh Woodrum LOL) he would normally run circles around. He was cut, used as leverage for trades, and generally disrespected as a player. It was like everything he ever did on a football field didn’t matter anymore. Damaged goods.
What it takes to get off the ground after such a spectacular fall is what Robert Griffin III addressed in the latest episode of Bussin’ With the Boys. And it’s a fascinating insight into perseverance, strength, and an unwavering belief in one’s self.
For most people, what Griffin went through might lead to early retirement and a cushy spot commentating for Fox, or bitter complacency with the new status quo as a fringe role player. For RG3, he not only has continued to stay ready for a starting role somewhere but has also embraced the role of elder statesman and mentor to one of the new faces of the league, Lamar Jackson. While RG3 was hyped pre-draft, Lamar was told to consider moving to wide receiver like Terrell Pryor. RG3 was the #2 overall pick, Lamar a second-rounder who was famously overlooked for other QBs like Josh Allen and Josh Rosen.
Being a mentor to Lamar was a way for RG3 to work on himself. Give Lamar (or LJ as he calls him) something RG3 never had when he entered the league with a boatload of expectations of transforming a fledgling franchise. Instead of a Heisman winner to take him under his wing, he had… Rex Grossman and Kirk Cousins. And his relationship with Lamar was critical when LJ was thrust into the starting job when Joe Flacco was suddenly injured, and helped speed the progress of Lamar from temporary starter to league MVP and the face of Madden 21.
On the pod, Griffin talks about how his injury, benching, and subsequent cut from Washington was a massive hurdle for him to overcome. Resentment. Anger. Frustration. But as he told Will Compton, he had to get over this in order to not just get on with his life, but to get on with his career; a career most people thought was over after 2017, when he missed an entire year,
Turns out, it was the Baltimore Ravens who gave him the opportunity to not just heal, but to resurrect his career and serve as a mentor to one of the brightest young stars in the NFL. Lamar Jackson and him have become like brothers. Two men who lit up the league as dual threat QBs with permanent beds in the Heisman house.
Griffin told Will Compton on the pod:
GRIFFIN: What I’m doing in Baltimore helped reset me, and helped me to have fun again. When I came back in 2018 I played in the preseason. I’m a second overall pick, I’m not a guy that is living for the preseason. You know what I’m saying? Guess what. That was my situation. I was the 4th quarterback on the roster. I had to accept that. I’m the 4th quarterback on the roster. I was getting TWO reps a day in practice for the majority of training camp. … I knew I could ball, and went out that preseason and I played my ass off. I think that’s why I made the team and that’s why they brought me back for a two year deal, because they understand I’m always going to be ready. That year out of football in 2017 really helped me to reset my brain, and really started having fun again, and that’s a big reason I could come back. I was the 4th quarterback on the roster behind Joe Flacco, Lamar got drafted a few weeks later, and Josh Woodrum, and there’s me. I had to fight through a lot.
The key, as Griffin points out several times, is a lesson that you can apply to just about all aspects of life: being prepared. How he even made the Ravens in 2018 is a fascinating story that gets to the heart of what he is all about.
GRIFFIN: The cool story about 2018 we played the Dolphins in the 3rd preseason game, and coach told me I’m not playing that week. I was in that situation, am I going to make the team? It was not good perception wise for my career. This was what I was fearing about coming back and being put in a situation like that. … Going through all these scenarios in my head. … I didn’t practice that week I went through the script and threw just in case something happened. It wasn’t like he told me I wasn’t dressing, he just said you’re probably not going to play this week. And I started that game.
When your opportunity comes? You don’t know. So I stayed ready, I ran through the script, I was throwing, and the night before the game he said, we’re sitting the starters, so there’s a chance you’ll play. No worries, coach, I’ve been staying ready. I’m good. Day of the game, I get a text, Hey RG, you’re starting. It’s me starting without the [starters] … going against the Dolphins #1 defense. Heat seeking missiles off the edge. And we went out, moved the ball up and down the field on them, and played great. … The rest of the year, everyone knew I was ready.
And that’s the base upon which RG3 resurrected his career. Preparation, not just for himself, but his team in general, and in particular, Lamar Jackson. Griffin expressed how being prepared even got him out of a very dark place.
GRIFFIN: I can’t stress this enough. You HAVE to be ready. It’s what drove me in 2015 when I didn’t play a down. That’s what drove me in 2016 when I broke my shoulder. It’s what drove me in 2017 when I was out of ball. The only difference for me? I let go of D.C. I hadn’t let it go until 2017 when I was out, and I didn’t understand how much of a burden that was for me. I’m like, It wasn’t fair, I didn’t get this opportunity. We had this conversation: I can’t keep having this conversation and keeping holding on to that; it sounds cliche, but it set me free to let that go. It happened, learn from it, now what? I didn’t want to be the guy that wasn’t ready.
What I find interesting is how RG3 balanced mentorship with the desire to be “the guy.” Most people will sabotage or withhold help because of their desire to have the starting job. This guy won a Heisman. He should have a MASSIVE ego, but somehow he finds making Lamar better is the road map to making him better. On top of the personal development side of it, the only way RG3 gets to put his skills on tape in live game situations is if Lamar is BLOWING teams out; so much so that he gets an entire quarter to ball out. As Griffin said, “If I had a bad reaction to [the Ravens drafting Lamar], I probably wouldn’t have been in Baltimore. But my reaction and willingness to be a mentor to him? That’s why they kept me in 2018 and then my play helped me make the team.”
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I’m really rooting for RG3 to get that opportunity to start somewhere, but if he doesn’t I know that he’ll do everything to help Lamar be the best quarterback he can be and continue to be one of the most valuable backup QBs to their franchise. In the meantime, he’ll continue to stay ready and be optimistic his shot will come, something we all can learn from.
As for Griffin, he’s well suited in his role as a mentor and back up to LJ, but he’s got his sights set on a starting job somewhere. As he noted, “I’m always competing. I’m not wired to be a backup. That’s why teams were reluctant to sign me in 2017, they didn’t want me to come in and challenge the starter to the level that they knew I would challenge him. … I don’t plan on being a backup forever.”
Check out the entire episode of the pod below: