You have to be careful to read too much into the pre-draft process. There could many reasons why Robert Griffin III declined an invitation to do a private workout for the Colts.
Word is that he had informed all NFL teams that he was not going to do any private workouts. He wanted as many teams as possible to show up for the Baylor pro day so that teammates such as wide receiver Kendall Wright and running back Terrence Ganaway would get a chance to get the maximum number of eyeballs on them as they did their workouts.
Even if he had not wanted to showcase his friends, there still is no reason for Griffin to do any private workouts. By all accounts, he nailed it that afternoon on Waco. If he can’t do it any better, why should he do it again?
Still, it’s hard not to think that there was not an element of RG3 attempting to steer his own future here. It’s not nearly Eli Manning refusing to play for the Chargers or John Elway threatening to play baseball rather than wearing a Colts uniform but it still was a not-so subtle message to Indy owner Jim Irsay that he wasn’t interested.
A certain former Washington columnist’s ramblings notwithstanding, it seems certain that the Colts are set on taking Andrew Luck with the top pick. Irsay, however, has to make it look like the decision has not yet been finalized. He needs to make it look like the organization is conducting due diligence so that if the decision does not work out he will be able to tell the fans, well, we did everything we could and gathered all of the information we could to make what we thought was the right decision.
But RG3 apparently has no interest in participating in Irsay’s Kabuki dance. He seems to be perfectly happy with the probability that he will go second in the draft. The difference in pay is about $1 million over four years. One would think that he could easily make up the difference in off-field opportunities in the Washington area, the seventh-largest market in the country. Indianapolis is the 34th-largest market and its population of about 1.7 million is less than one-third of the DMV’s population.
And let’s not forget that Griffin grew up a Broncos fan and the coach of that team now coaches the Redskins. New Colts coach Chuck Pagano might turn out to be a fine coach but right now, he doesn’t even show up on the gravitas scale compared to Mike Shanahan, especially in RG3’s mind.
Nothing is done until it’s done. Until the Colts either sign Luck to a contract, which is unlikely, or turn in a card with his name on it to Roger Goodell on April 26 in Radio City Music Hall, there is a chance that they will draft Griffin. But it does appear that RG3 is doing what he can to ensure that they don’t.
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