Ravens: Ranking every Heisman Trophy winner who played for Baltimore
5. Robert Griffin III, QB, Ravens
- 2011 Heisman Trophy winner
- Ravens tenure: 2018-2020
Perhaps the biggest one-season wonder in NFL history, Robert Griffin III’s NFL career will forever be defined by what he accomplished in one season 35 miles away from Baltimore.
In his rookie season in 2012, “RG3” dazzled the NFL with his mobility and sensational arm, leading Washington to their first division title in five years while winning Rookie of the Year honors.
However, that success came at a heavy price.
Late in the season — ironically, in a game against the Ravens — Griffin suffered an LCL sprain. Against the urging of doctors, he rushed back to the field in time for Washington’s wild-card playoff game against Seattle.
Of course, Griffin re-aggravated his injury and Washington lost.
His career never recovered, and he spent two dismal seasons trying and failing to recapture the magic of 2012. Washington finally released him before the 2015 season.
After enduring one season of Hue Jackson-era Cleveland Browns football, Griffin spent a year out of the NFL altogether.
The Baltimore Ravens gave him a new lease on life in 2018, and he found some time as Lamar Jackson’s backup. In 2020, he started (and lost) the Ravens’ Week 12 game against Pittsburgh when Jackson was placed on the COVID-19 list.
The Ravens waived Griffin shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 season and it’s unclear where his NFL career will go from here.