Ex-NFL QB RGIII still haunted by 2012 heartbreak after breakout rookie season

After a good rookie season that saw Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins make the playoffs in 2012, it looked as if the Redskins had an emerging franchise quarterback for years to come. Unfortunately, injuries got in the way of the quarterback known as RGIII.

In Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens, Griffin III suffered a knee injury that was later revealed to be an LCL sprain. After sitting out the following game, he returned in Week 16. He would later re-injure the knee in the Redskins' NFC wildcard game against the Seattle Seahawks. From there, his career was never the same.

Dov Kleiman tweeted an RGIII highlight from the 2012 season with the caption, "RG3 could've been one of the greats."

Griffin III saw the tweet and responded, showing that he wished his career had gone a different way after the injury-riddled season:

"Whoever wrote the NFL script to end the 2012 season should drop their phone on their face while laying in bed every night for the rest of their life."

Griffin III finished his rookie campaign with a 9-6 record, threw for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, and ran for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. He also led the Redskins to the playoffs. But his rookie season was the only winning season of his eight-year NFL career.

What happened to Robert Griffin (RGIII) after his rookie season?

RGIII during St Louis Rams v Washington Redskins - Source: Getty

RGIII played in the Washington Redskins' 2012-13 wildcard round against the Seattle Seahawks on an injured knee. In the game, he re-injured his knee and shortly after the season was over, he underwent surgery on his LCL and ACL.

Griffin III was healthy enough to start Washington's first game of the 2013 season, but he missed three games that season and had a down year, going 3-10 as a starter. In 2014, RGIII dislocated his ankle and sat out for a bit, and was then benched for Colt McCoy. He would return as the team's starter after McCoy was injured.

After going 2-5 as Washington's starter during the 2014 season, Griffin III sat out the entire 2015 season and was the team's third-string quarterback. He was released the following March.

Griffin signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year and went 1-4 in five starts. He'd spend the next three seasons (2018-2020) as the Baltimore Ravens' backup quarterback.

Griffin finished his career with a 16-26 record, throwing for 9,271 yards, 43 touchdowns, 30 interceptions, and ran for 1,809 yards and 10 touchdowns.