Robert Griffin III downplays ‘weird’ similarities between his and Jayden Daniels’ injuries against Seattle

When Jayden Daniels injured his elbow in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks, it brought to mind one of the worst moments in Washington football history.

Fans were understandably anxious watching Daniels hobble off the field at Northwest Stadium against the same opponent and even on the very same yard line on which they watched Robert Griffin III tear up his knee in 2012.

After Griffin went down in that game, his career was never the same. The highs of his superlative rookie season gave way to more injuries and ultimately, unfulfilled promise.

But in a podcast episode reacting to the news over the weekend, Griffin explained why, while Daniels is clearly an injury risk with his running ability and thin frame, Griffin is not worried about the second-year star’s future.

“Just know that my situation in D.C. and Jayden’s, outside of the surface level, Black quarterback, second pick, Heisman trophy winner hurt on the same yard-line, same game against the same team … it’s wild, it’s like some Twilight Zone, deja vu-ish stuff, but it’s not the same,” Griffin said on his Outta Pocket podcast. “And it’s because of the organization.”

When Griffin got to Washington, head coach Mike Shanahan was on the hot seat, and the franchise was still run by Daniel Snyder and Bruce Allen. The situation was widely seen as one of the worst in the NFL.

Looking now, Griffin sees organizational alignment and a clear vision.

“There is no infighting in this organization,” Griffin explained. “The head coach and the owners aren’t fighting about who they want the quarterback to be, how they want the offense to be run, who’s supposed to be in charge. And that was something that I didn’t know, coming into Washington in 2012, that that was something that was going on. The organization, right now, is not built off of toxicity.”

So long as Daniels can recover from the injury to his non-throwing arm, Griffin is optimistic the organization will put him in a position to succeed. The initial reports out of Washington suggest Daniels did not suffer any ligament damage and could even return this season.

Griffin cautioned that the Commanders should hold Daniels out for the year to get fully healthy if they are out of postseason contention. But the Fox Sports analyst already sees a different tune among Washington, D.C., media and fans as Daniels recovers.

As Griffin sees it, his career may even be serving as a cautionary tale for the Commanders and the reporters who cover the team.

“When I was in D.C., Mike Shanahan’s response after the injury was to take responsibility for the injury. But then weeks later, it was leaked stories in the media to NFL insiders about different things that were going on to try and shift the blame,” Griffin said.

“The people covering the team now are way more positive and way more understanding of the totality of the issue than when I was in D.C., and I think it’s because even they don’t want Jayden Daniels’ story to end up like mine did.”