There have been some rumblings lately involving Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III as a trade asset, but what is his value on the market?
Robert Griffin III has been a fan favorite player for the Baltimore Ravens since coming to the team back in 2018. RGIII was the third-string quarterback that year behind Joe Flacco and rookie Lamar Jackson, but his importance was more vital to Jackson’s development. Griffin and Jackson were similar quarterbacks coming out of college, after all, so he served as Jackson’s mentor as a rookie.
After 2018, the Baltimore Ravens opted to move on from Flacco and give the reigns to the franchise to Jackson. With a year of development and starting the final eight games of the year (including the playoffs), Baltimore felt comfortable with the then 22-year old to become their franchise quarterback. It worked out beautifully, as Jackson won the league MVP award and had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in recent memory.
Lamar Jackson’s success was largely his own, but the scheme fit him to a “T” and there is some credit due to Robert Griffin III’s advice for the young man.
With all this in mind, Robert Griffin III’s fit with the Ravens is invaluable. Nonetheless, there is allegedly a trade market for the 30-year old vet ahead of the league new year. It’s an interesting conversation to be had, and Baltimore would be wise to at least listen to offers.
RGIII hasn’t been the game-changing quarterback he once was since his rookie season back in 2012, but he has value as a team’s primary backup. Griffin advertised this in seven games and one start in 2019 in relief for Jackson, completing 60.5% of his passes while throwing 225-yards and one touchdown.
While his performance was far from great, they were more than enough for Baltimore to continue holding on to leads and win games. In fact in the final game of 2019 Griffin started and won vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Griffin simply did enough to manage the game when the Ravens asked him to, and that’s all you can ask from your backup quarterback.
This creates a perplexing situation for Baltimore, as they have a good thing going with Robert Griffin and it doesn’t make the most sense to deal him away. Still, draft picks are valuable and the Ravens can draft another quarterback in this upcoming draft class if they aren’t comfortable leaving Trace McSorely as their backup option. Baltimore would also recoup $2 million in cap space by unloading RGIII. With some big-time free agents set to depart from the team, many of whom the Ravens would like to retain, every little bit of money counts.
Who would be on the other end of a trade involving Robert Griffin III? It’s a safe assumption that quarterback-needy teams like the Indianapolis Colts or Miami Dolphins have some interest in Griffin. We can also assume that teams in need of a backup quarterback like the Las Vegas Raiders would have the most interest in adding Griffin to their ranks.
It’s a conversation that needs to be had, but is it truly worth it for Baltimore to ship off their established backup for what would likely be a late-round draft selection? With everything we’ve discussed, it’s clear that RGIII is more valuable to the Ravens than any draft pick compensation for him. Short of a team offering as high as a fourth-round pick for Griffin, it makes more sense to retain him.
At the end of the day, Robert Griffin III is a perfect backup option for the Baltimore Ravens and his value to the team is worth more than given credit for. Unless there’s an offer that blows Baltimore away, the Ravens should hold on to RGIII and the perfect backup quarterback for this team for 2020.