Robert Griffin III open to Commanders return for unexpected reason

The Washington Commanders’ quarterback room is filled (for now) after they signed former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm to the practice squad. Fromm is now the third QB on the roster with Carson Wentz headed for a possible stint on IR after finger surgery. Taylor Heinicke will start and Sam Howell will be the backup.

A large chunk of Washington’s fan base wanted Howell to get the nod over Heinicke, but the former undrafted free agent gives the Commanders the best chance to win without Wentz, as Ron Rivera eloquently laid out on Tuesday.

There’s no sense throwing Howell to the fire with the season on the line. While Howell was a breakout star during preseason, when he finished with the most passing yards and nearly staged a comeback in his first outing.

Perhaps there’s a path for Howell to get a start this season — like if Washington falls completely out of the playoff picture by the time Wentz is activated — but for now there’s nothing wrong with Howell watching from the sidelines.

While Howell continues his development, Robert Griffin III recently conveyed his interest in returning to Washington, if they would have him. The reason? Not to challenge Heinicke for the starting gig, but to mentor Howell.

Robert Griffin III would return to the Commanders to mentor rookie quarterback Sam Howell.

"“I would entertain coming back, and here’s the reason: I love football, but two, I actually have a really great relationship with Sam Howell,” Griffin said on his weekly appearance on “The Sports Junkies. “To me, coming back to play is, yes, you want to come back and you want to be a starter, but if there’s an opportunity to go in and mentor a young guy that I have a relationship with, that’s something I would cherish.”“Sam has been great with me over the course of coming into the league as a rookie, being able to talk to him and really help him in certain instances with how to see the game and how to approach everything. I would entertain that. That would be more about Sam Howell than it would be about the Washington Commanders.”"

Griffin has been outspoken about his desire to return to the NFL. In fact, the former Rookie of the Year claimed he garnered interest from teams after he ran a 4.48 40-yard dash at Rich Eisen’s annual 40-yard charity event, indicating his dual-threat ability is alive and well at 32 years old and after two years out of the league.

Griffin has offered his services to multiple teams since he joined ESPN as an NFL and college football analyst. During the offseason, the former Heisman Trophy winner shared his desire to go back home to Texas (he attended Copperas Cove High School and starred at Baylor) to play for the Cowboys.

Go back to Week 1 of last season, and Griffin sent out a telling tweet after Ryan Fitzpatrick was injured in the first half against the Chargers.

Crazier things have happened (see Jim Irsay’s attack on Dan Snyder), but it’d be earth-shattering if the Commanders made a move for RGIII. It’d be one thing if Wentz was ruled out for the season, but he’s going to miss a month tops.

Maybe we can revisit this conversation in the offseason (Wentz and Heinicke could both be off the roster), but if a team was going to sign Griffin it probably would’ve happened already given all the quarterback turnover around the league.

It does, however, make for a fun debate. Imagine RGIII back where it all started?