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Tag: Robert Griffin III

  • Jayden Daniels leaves game after Washington QB’s nonthrowing arm bends gruesomely

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — Jayden Daniels was being dragged down by a defender when he stuck his left arm out and put his hand on the ground.

    That’s when a dismal night for the Washington Commanders turned downright horrifying.

    Daniels’ nonthrowing arm bent gruesomely, and the star quarterback had to leave Washington’s 38-14 loss to Seattle on Sunday night with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. It’s the third — and perhaps the most significant — injury of the season for Daniels, who was in his first game back from a hamstring issue.

    “It’s really tough to see him go down. You just want him to stay positive,” Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “You don’t know what the result is. You just speak a lot of positivity into existence. He’s a very positive person so we’re just praying for the best.”

    AP AUDIO: Jayden Daniels leaves game after Washington QB’s nonthrowing arm bends gruesomely

    The NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year exited with a significant injury late during a lopsided defeat. Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.

    Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Daniels injured his elbow. That was about the extent of the postgame update. Quinn didn’t have much of an explanation for why Daniels was still in the game. Washington was trailing 38-7 at the time.

    “Obviously like the hindsight, you don’t want to think that way, where an injury could take place,” Quinn said. “Obviously we’re more conservative in that spot to run and hand off and not have reads to go, but just the end result — obviously, I’m bummed.”

    In addition to the hamstring injury, Daniels also missed two games earlier this season with knee issues.

    Although an injury to Daniels’ non-throwing arm isn’t necessarily career altering, Commanders fans could hardly be blamed for immediately fearing the worst. It was on this same field about 13 years ago — against the same opponent — that Robert Griffin III went down with a severe knee injury at the end of his sensational rookie season for Washington. He never reached those heights again.

    The Commanders fell behind early Sunday and trailed 31-7 at halftime, and Daniels had to do plenty of scrambling. He ended up running for 51 yards on 10 carries, and the injury underscored the risk in doing that.

    “I think that’s his nature. He wants to be aggressive and make plays,” Quinn said. “He’s got confidence in the other players. I do know that. So it’s not like, ‘I have to do more, I have to do things that are outside of playing in that way.’ We also have to have everybody. Injuries happen and you hate it.”

    As a rookie last season, Daniels led Washington to the NFC championship game — its best season since 1991. Now the Commanders are 3-6 after four straight losses. If the season can be salvaged, it may have to be with Marcus Mariota at quarterback.

    During those moments when Daniels was slow to get up, however, it was the long-term future that seemed like the bigger issue.

    “I didn’t see what happened exactly. I just heard a pause and I kind of put my head down and prayed for him,” Commanders guard Sam Cosmi said. “You just don’t want to see that happen.”

    ___

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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  • Lions Veteran Blasts RGIII After He Says Brian Branch Should Be Suspended

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    Detroit Lions defensive lineman D.J. Reader has fired back at Robert Griffin III after the former NFL quarterback publicly called for Brian Branch to be suspended following Sunday’s postgame scuffle with JuJu Smith-Schuster.

    Griffin took to social media, writing:

    “Brian Branch started the fight on the field. Brian Branch threw a punch and knocked JuJu Smith-Schuster down. Brian Branch should be suspended. THERE IS NO PLACE IN SPORTS FOR THAT.”

    Reader didn’t hold back in his response, posting:

    “The retirement done turned you into something different.”

    The veteran’s message seemed to suggest that Griffin, once a player himself, should better understand the emotions that come with heated postgame moments, especially after what Branch described as a “childish reaction” to being blocked illegally in the back by Smith-Schuster late in the game.

    What’s Next for Detroit

    The NFL is reviewing the incident, and Branch could still face a fine or possible suspension, a major concern for a Lions secondary already battling injuries. Safety Kerby Joseph continues to nurse a knee issue, while rookie Thomas Harper saw extended action against Kansas City.

    Detroit will look to regroup as they prepare for a pivotal Monday Night Football matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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    Don Drysdale

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  • Bears QB Caleb Williams Gets Strong 6-Word Message From RGIII

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    Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears finally showed up in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys. When all was said and done, they came through with a dominant 31-14 win to improve to 1-2 on the young season.

    Entering this week’s game, Williams was facing a lot of pressure. Fans and some media members had started calling for the Bears to consider benching him.

    Despite all of the outside noise, the second-year quarterback locked in and turned in the best performance of his NFL career.

    Read more: Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb Revealed

    Throughout the course of the game, Williams completed 19 of his 28 pass attempts for 298 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also ran for 12 yards on five attempts.

    Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears reacts during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field on September 21, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.

    Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

    That is exactly the kind of performance that Chicago needed to see from its young franchise quarterback. After a lot of frustration, there is finally some optimism surrounding the team and its signal caller.

    Following the big-time performance from Williams, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III took to X to send a strong six-word message.

    “Caleb Williams haters are REAL QUIET,” Griffin wrote.

    Being a quarterback in the Windy City is no easy task. The media is not very kind, especially when the Bears aren’t winning. Williams has been experiencing that first-hand.

    Luther Burden III, the rookie wideout Chicago brought in to support Williams, had a huge game. He caught three passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Rome Odunze chipped in three catches for 62 yards and a score.

    Williams spread the ball around nicely, completing passes to eight different targets. His performance was truly impressive and will quiet down the doubters at least for the time being.

    Read more: Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and Andy Reid Caught in Heated Sideline Clash

    That being said, the Bears still have a lot of work to do. They’re still just 1-2 on the season and have a tough Week 4 matchup ahead on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.

    It will be interesting to see if Williams and Chicago can use its big win against the Cowboys as a stepping stone to bigger things. There is no doubt that the Bears have a talented roster, but they will need to figure out consistency.

    Should Williams be able to put together another big performance against the Raiders, the media coverage of him could shift back to the future superstar status that he was given before the 2024 NFL Draft.

    For more on the Chicago Bears and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.

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  • Robert Griffin III Fired By ESPN With Years Left On Deal

    Robert Griffin III Fired By ESPN With Years Left On Deal

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    Source: James Gilbert / Getty

    ESPN has reportedly fired Robert Griffin III. He was hired three years ago and was in the middle of his current contract.

    Griffin was considered to be a “rising star” for the network.

    The Athletic initially reported the stunning move.

    Griffin was replaced on Monday Night Countdown by Jason Kelce this offseason. He was also a contributor to the network’s college game day broadcasts.

    RG3 wasn’t the only one ESPN let go on Thursday. Sam Ponder, the host of the network’s Sunday night game coverage NFL Sunday Countdown, was also fired.

    The NY Post reports that a potential landing spot for Griffin could be NFL Network’s GameDay Morning, as they could be looking for a replacement for Michael Irving.

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    Matty Willz

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  • VIDEO: Jayden Daniels speaks to media after getting drafted by Commanders

    VIDEO: Jayden Daniels speaks to media after getting drafted by Commanders

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    DETROIT — LSU quarterback and the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, was drafted by the Washington Commanders with the number two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It was the highest selection Washington made at the quarterback position since Robert Griffin III was picked with the second pick in 2012.

    Washington also considered quarterbacks Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy during their pre-draft process.

    “It just starts with I’m just coming in to compete,” Daniels said. “I’m coming in and trying to play my role whatever that is. I just want to be the best teammate, help the team win and we can bring back some victories to Washington and we can have some fun.”

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    Itoro N. Umontuen

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  • LSU QB Jayden Daniels wins 2023 Heisman Trophy

    LSU QB Jayden Daniels wins 2023 Heisman Trophy

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    LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is a Heisman winner.

    The senior quarterback won the award over Oregon QB Bo Nix, Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. after a phenomenal dual-threat season. Daniels was one of the nation’s leading passers in nearly all the major metrics and also one of only two quarterbacks to rush for over 1,000 yards during 2023.

    Daniels finished with 503 first-place votes while Penix finished with 292 first-place votes. The total margin between the two quarterbacks, 2,029 points to 1,701 points, was the closest Heisman voting has finished since 2018.

    Daniels finished the regular season 236-of-327 passing for 3,812 yards and 40 TDs. He threw just four interceptions and completed over 70% of his passes. Just six players — including Nix at 77.2% — completed a higher percentage of their passes.

    But Daniels had everyone easily beat in yards per attempt. He was by far the nation’s leader in that category as the LSU offense averaged 11.7 yards every time he threw the football. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, the player in second in yards per attempt, averaged 1.3 yards fewer per throw.

    Daniels also tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with Nix despite playing one fewer game. Nix played in 13 games in 2023 as Oregon went to the Pac-12 title game. But Penix and the Huskies beat the Ducks to get to the College Football Playoff. It was a game that likely sealed Daniels’ status as the Heisman winner as Nix fell below the all-time single-season record for completion percentage (Mac Jones’ 77.4% in 2020).

    In addition to being a threat with LSU receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas to break a big play from nearly anywhere on the field through the air, he was also a big play waiting to happen on the ground.

    Daniels rushed 135 times for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns over 12 games. He averaged the most yards per carry of any qualified player in college football at 8.4 and was over a full yard ahead of Tennessee RB Jaylen Wright in second place.

    It’s a remarkable rushing total and rushing average for a quarterback who dropped back to pass as much as Daniels did. College football statistics count sacks against a quarterback’s rushing totals and Daniels was sacked 22 times. Penix, for example, has rushed for minus-18 yards this season.

    Daniels had five games with at least one run longer than 40 yards and his signature performance came in a 52-35 win over Florida on Nov. 11. Daniels was 17-of-26 passing for 372 yards and three touchdowns through the air while rushing 12 times for 234 yards and two scores. Daniels broke touchdown runs of 85 yards and 51 yards during that game and then threw three touchdowns in the final 18 minutes as the Tigers pulled away from the Gators.

    It was the first time in top-level college football history that a player had thrown for over 350 yards and rushed for over 200 yards in the same game.

    He also powered the Tigers’ comeback win at No. 9 Missouri on Oct. 7. After briefly leaving the game early in the fourth quarter following a crushing hit at the goal line, Daniels returned to engineer two go-ahead touchdown drives on LSU’s next two possessions.

    He broke a 35-yard TD run on third down to give the Tigers a 35-32 lead over Mizzou with less than eight minutes to go, and then accounted for all 75 yards on LSU’s next drive as the Tigers went up for good with less than three minutes to go.

    That drive also included a monster third-down run. Daniel broke a 31-yard run on third down to get to the Missouri 29 yard-line and a play later hit Nabers for a 29-yard score that put LSU up 42-39.

    A three-loss Heisman winner

    Players on teams with more than two losses don’t win the Heisman very often. Especially in recent seasons. Last year, USC was 11-2 when Caleb Williams lifted the award. The year before that, Alabama was 12-1 when Bryce Young won and undefeated when DeVonta Smith won in 2020.

    Williams, in fact, became just the second player to win the Heisman in the playoff era as part of a team that wasn’t in the four-team playoff. As Daniels joins that group, he’s the first player since Lamar Jackson in 2016 to be a part of a team that had three losses before the Heisman ceremony.

    Like Daniels, Jackson was a dynamic passer and rusher and his season-long performance was too good to ignore. Jackson threw for over 3,500 yards and rushed for nearly 1,600 that season as he accounted for 51 touchdowns.

    Overall, Daniels is just the 15th player on a team with three or more losses to win the Heisman and the fourth in the 2000s along with Jackson, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III in 2011 and Florida’s Tim Tebow in 2007.

    A Heisman transfer trend

    Daniels is also the fifth player in the past seven seasons to win the Heisman at his second school, a sign of the normalization of player transfers. Nix and Penix are also transfers in their second seasons at their new schools. Nix transferred to Oregon from Auburn while Penix transferred to Washington from Indiana.

    Williams won in his first season at USC after transferring from Oklahoma, while LSU QB Joe Burrow won in his first season at LSU in 2019 after joining the Tigers from Ohio State. Before Burrow, Kyler Murray won in his second season at Oklahoma after transferring from Texas A&M, and Baker Mayfield was in his third season at Oklahoma after he started his college career at Texas Tech.

    Daniels came to LSU before the 2022 season after the school hired Brian Kelly from Notre Dame. Daniels spent the first three seasons of his career at Arizona State and appeared in all but one game for the Sun Devils in that span.

    He transferred from Arizona State after he threw for 2,381 yards and rushed for 710 yards in 2021 but accounted for only 16 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

    He immediately became a star and improved on those numbers at LSU in 2022 as the Tigers won the SEC West. Daniels completed 69% of his passes in 2021 and threw for 2,913 yards while rushing for 885. He entered the season as one of the favorites to win the Heisman, based on his leap from 2021 to 2022, but hardly anyone could have predicted the eye-popping statistics he accumulated.

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    Nick Bromberg, Yahoo Sports

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  • ESPN’s Robert Griffin III Uses Highly Racist Term On Air, Says It Was Accident

    ESPN’s Robert Griffin III Uses Highly Racist Term On Air, Says It Was Accident

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    ESPN football analyst Robert Griffin III used a racist slur in his defense of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on “Monday Night Countdown.” (Watch the video below.)

    Griffin, a former Heisman Trophy winner who played quarterback in seven NFL seasons, had a message for critics of Hurts, who has led the Eagles to a 12-1 record.

    “People said that Jalen Hurts couldn’t get it done, he could not break from the pocket, he’s not the quarterback of the future,” Griffin said. “I think he proved all those jigaboos wrong.”

    Griffin later tweeted that he meant to say “those Bug-A-Boos.”

    “Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize,” he wrote.

    Griffin has been in hot water before for commentary that went awry. Earlier this season, he compared an allegation of indecent exposure against former receiver Antonio Brown to the defenses of Detroit and Seattle.

    “AB showed more D than the Lions and Seahawks did today,” he wrote at the time.

    HuffPost couldn’t immediately reach ESPN for comment.

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  • Colts’ Saturday hiring chided on diversity, fairness grounds

    Colts’ Saturday hiring chided on diversity, fairness grounds

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    Even Jeff Saturday was shocked when Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay called late Sunday night to offer him the head coaching position.

    A former two-time All-Pro center who snapped the ball to Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for 12 seasons, Saturday surely knows his X’s and O’s.

    But the TV analyst’s only coaching experience was a three-year stint at Hebron Christian Academy in Georgia, where he led the team to a 20-16 record with three playoff appearances.

    Irsay’s decision stunned people internally and around the league, though his affinity for Saturday was known throughout the organization. Saturday played 13 seasons for the Colts, made the Pro Bowl six times, helped them win a Super Bowl and is a member of the team’s Ring of Honor.

    Critics immediately went after Irsay for hiring an inexperienced former player instead of elevating someone from the coaching staff, which is typical during in-season firings. Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley previously served as a head coach in Jacksonville from 2013-16. Senior defensive assistant John Fox spent 16 seasons as head coach in Carolina, Denver and Chicago, and led the Panthers and Broncos to Super Bowl appearances.

    Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III called Irsay’s decision “a head-scratching slap in the face to every coach on that staff” in a post on Twitter.

    Saturday’s hiring also didn’t sit well with the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which fights for equity and inclusion in pro . The NFL has seven minority head coaches, including Carolina Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks.

    “The Rooney Rule is the only universal hiring policy used by the NFL to promote fairness and diversity,” The Alliance said in a statement. “However, (Monday’s) news in Indianapolis illuminated a gap in the league’s stated objective. If the spirit of the rule is to expand opportunities, we believe that it must be consistently applied, even in the hiring of interim positions.”

    Irsay and the Colts didn’t have to follow the Rooney Rule requirements for interviewing minority candidates because Saturday replaced Frank Reich during the season. The team will have to fulfill those requirements after the season when seeking a permanent hire.

    “We’re following the Rooney Rule to a ‘T.’ I really look forward to the interview process at the end of the season,” Irsay said.

    This wasn’t the first time Irsay went after Saturday, who is a paid consultant for the team and was working as an analyst at ESPN.

    “Now understand, we’ve tried to hire Jeff a couple times,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “We tried to hire him in 2019 as the offensive line coach and we tried to hire him again this year — just didn’t work out. The timing didn’t work out. I spent a lot of time with Jeff — like I have with a few of the ex-players here, and it doesn’t take long to figure out that he’s got real leadership in him, real special in that regard. For this eight-game stretch and where we’re at, we thought he was going to be a really good fit for us.”

    The Colts (3-5-1) are headed nowhere and Matt Ryan’s benching for inexperienced and overwhelmed quarterback Sam Ehlinger indicates the team has prioritized draft positioning. Reich began each of his five seasons in Indianapolis with a different quarterback, so ensuring a top draft pick to select a potential franchise QB would be a wise strategy.

    That leaves Saturday in a can’t-lose position.

    If he somehow finds a way to lead the Colts to a winning record or even a 4-4 mark over the last eight games, it would be quite an achievement given the state of the team.

    If the Colts lose enough games to end up with one of the top QBs in the draft, Saturday would have helped set the team up for potential future success.

    Irsay made a bold, outside-the-box move that opened him up for scrutiny and criticism. It’s clear he doesn’t care about public perception.

    ———

    Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

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    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Questionable roughing the passer calls raise more questions

    Questionable roughing the passer calls raise more questions

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Can’t touch this.

    Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett found out the hard way when he sacked Tom Brady and got flagged for roughing the passer in the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s 21-15 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday.

    The questionable penalty that benefited Brady and the Buccaneers raised more concerns about interpretations of the rule. It was the second straight week referee Jerome Boger made the critical call late in the game on a play that didn’t seem to warrant a flag.

    Last week, it helped the Buffalo Bills on a drive that ended with Tyler Bass kicking a 21-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20.

    This time, it allowed the Buccaneers to extend the final drive and eventually run out the clock.

    Protecting quarterbacks has always been a point of emphasis for the NFL. That was magnified after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher following a violent hit in a game against Cincinnati on Sept. 29. Tagovailoa sustained a concussion when 6-foot-3, 340-pound Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou threw him backward, slamming his head into the turf.

    Tupou wasn’t penalized for sacking Tagovailoa. Neither Josh Allen nor Brady were injured on the hits Boger called roughing.

    “What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,” Boger told a pool reporter after the game. “That is what I was making my decision based upon.”

    Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, of course, understood the decision.

    “I saw that one being called. I saw it against Tua when he got hit, and in the London game this morning,” Bowles said. “I think they are starting to crack down on some of the things, slinging backs. I don’t know. Right now, the way they are calling (it), I think a lot of people would’ve gotten that call.”

    In the NFL rulebook, it states: “Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls.”

    The rulebook also notes: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer.”

    Many analysts, including former quarterbacks, disagreed with Boger’s call.

    “The league office has to get that fixed,” Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy said on NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show. “If you cannot tackle the quarterback, it’s going to be impossible to play defense.”

    Robert Griffin III tweeted: “The Falcons got ROBBED. Hitting the QB hard does not equal Roughing the Passer even if it’s Tom Brady.”

    Despite the perception that the 45-year-old Brady gets special treatment, the seven-time Super Bowl champion ranks 41st with .14 roughing calls per game since 2009. This was the first time Brady was the beneficiary of a roughing penalty this season. He only got one last year.

    Jarrett was visibly upset about the penalty and refused to talk to reporters after the game. Falcons coach Arthur Smith wouldn’t criticize the officials.

    “Obviously from my vantage point, it looked like it was a bad call,” Falcons cornerback Casey Hayward Jr. said. “But that’s why you put the refs out there to make these calls. They pay these guys to make those calls. It looked bad (from) my standpoint – but like I said – I was on the back end. They put these guys there to make those calls.”

    Nobody wants to see any player endure a hit like the one that sent Tagovailoa to the hospital. But there’s a difference between protecting quarterbacks and punishing defenders for playing football.

    Finding a balance is the NFL’s dilemma.

    ———

    Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

    ———

    More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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