Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin III has officially been benched in favor of Kirk Cousins

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has been benched, with Washington coach Jay Gruden announcing that Kirk Cousins is officially the starter.

What It Means:

Gruden said Cousins "is the best quarterback on our roster" and will be the starter for all of 2015. That may be the intention today, but nothing in the Redskins' recent history suggests they will slide through the entire season with one quarterback. Cousins owns a 59 percent career completion rate and has thrown 19 interceptions to 18 touchdowns in his three-year career. Griffin and even Colt McCoy could still make starts this season.

Griffin was superb in his 2012 rookie season, finishing sixth in the league in Total Net Expected Points (NEP) at 132.92, which takes expected points adding while rushing into account. Ever since sustaining his knee injury, though, Griffin has struggled. His Total NEP slipped to 28.47 in 2013 and then tumbled to -37.24 last year. Over 212 dropbacks in 2014, Cousins racked up a mediocre 19.91 points and finished 18th in Passing NEP per play among 43 quarterbacks who recorded at least 100 dropbacks.