Robert Griffin III
There was a brief moment in time when the most powerful man in the nation’s capital was none other than Robert Griffin III, better known by fans as “RG3.” In his rookie season, Griffin burst onto the NFL scene by winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week after his first NFL game, and NFL Rookie of the Month after his first month in the NFL. By the end of the year, he had led Washington to an NFC East title.
But after suffering a catastrophic knee injury in the Redskins playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a combination of egotism, squabbles with head coach Mike Shanahan, and a greater focus on promoting his brand (versus playing quarterback) led to him being benched for Kirk Cousins in 2014. Griffin was out of the NFL for all of the 2017 season before landing as a backup with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. In 2021, he joined ESPN as an analyst.