If there’s anyone who can speak on the mishandling of quarterbacks, it’s Robert Griffin III. The former Heisman winner and NFL Rookie of the Year turned ESPN personality knows a thing or two about a coach who doesn’t want his quarterback.
And Griffin seems to feel that way when it comes to how Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks about Russell Wilson.
Griffin delivered some harsh criticism of Payton, especially with how he’s handled the team’s 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“As the head coach Sean Payton has been pointing the finger at everybody else except for himself,” Griffin said on his podcast RG3 and The Ones, via Sportskeeda. “When they got 70 points put on them by the Miami Dolphins and he had to go to his press conference, he decided, no, I’m not going to sit here and take the bullets for the team.”
Griffin argued that Payton isn’t taking enough responsibility, instead shouldering the blame on the play of Russell Wilson, who has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 791 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Those numbers aren’t going to win Wilson an MVP, but it’s a large improvement from how he performed the season prior.
“When his quarterback, Russell Wilson, actually played pretty good, he talked about how he can’t get plays in from the sideline,” Griffin added. “But the bottom line is for Sean Payton to do everything that he’s done to Russell Wilson when he came in the door, he was trying to make it seem like he was not the problem.”
Sean Payton is acting like a guy who doesn't want Russell Wilson as his QB.
New episode out now. pic.twitter.com/jEUSed6Q63
— RG3 and The Ones (@rg3andtheones) September 28, 2023
Griffin brings up a good point, as Payton suggested that Dnever’s struggles in 2022 had more to do with former head coach Nathaniel Hackett and his coaching staff, and less to do with Wilson. He isn’t exactly signing that same tune after three games and Griffin is calling him out for his hypocrisy.
“When you play a quarterback like Russell Wilson, who has won a Super Bowl and is a Hall of Famer when you treat him the way that Sean Payton has, it just feels to me like he doesn’t want him to be his quarterback,” said Griffin.
It’s certainly a bold claim by Griffin, but as we know, actions speak a whole lot louder than words. Wilson remains Denver’s quarterback for now, but there remains the possibility that he could get benched at any point for Jarrett Stidham.
