ASHBURN, Va. - Former Redskins safety Ryan Clark has never been short of opinions since joining ESPN as an analyst before and following his retirement from football.
But after ESPN's John Clayton reported the team would draft Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota were he available in April's NFL Draft, Clark seemed sure the Griffin-era would be definitively over.
"Well, I guess if they draft Mariota, it's over [for Griffin] in Washington," he told ESPN's First Take.
That, despite Gruden announcing publicly after the regular season that Griffin would be under center for the team when next season began.
That didn't convince Clark, however.
"He [Gruden] comes out early in the offseason and says, 'You know what? Robert Griffin III is our quarterback.' I think that was to kind of try to show there's no issues in house, but there clearly is. He's not his guy. They want to go in a different direction.
"And to hear this early, though, at No. 5 [overall], if Marcus Mariota is there, has to be disheartening to RGIII. And even if they don't draft Marcus Mariota, it could create some problems in the locker room and in that building."
Though Clayton had reported Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said he had not yet evaluated Griffin, and that even if Mariota were drafted, that would not mean Griffin was done in Washington.
Clark started all 16 games for the Redskins last season and said that from what he saw inside the building and at team meetings during that time, he saw nothing endearing in the relationship between coach and quarterback, and that Gruden's subtle public slights at Griffin reveals deeper private ambivalence.
"Jay Gruden, as you saw from last year - the media reports where he would say RG3 took a five-step drop where he supposed to take three, or he looked the wrong way this many times in a game - he showed the world that it wasn't his guy," Clark said.
Clark mentioned that any love lost between Gruden and Griffin did not exist between Griffin and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
"He loves RGIII," Clark said of Snyder's enthusiasm for Griffin.
"This is what I know about Dan Snyder," he added. "He wants to win, and when he puts somebody in place to make decisions, he gives them full trust and full go, whether it was Vinny Cerrato, Bruce Allen. Now you look at the new GM. I think he says, listen, we're going to put people in place that know football and I'm going to do what you want me to do, you have full go. I will put the money where you tell me if it allows this team to win."
All that said, should the Redskins pursue Mariota even somewhat, Griffin would have even more reason to think he may be less than wanted in Washington, despite any public declarations to the contrary.
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