Copyright CBS Sports
It's easy to see why some Washington Commanders fans are uneasy. A young, electric quarterback wins Offensive Rookie of the Year, energizes a franchise, then suffers a major injury against the Seattle Seahawks -- on nearly the same patch of grass where Robert Griffin III's career-altering moment unfolded more than a decade ago. But Griffin isn't buying the idea that history is repeating itself as it relates to Jayden Daniels. The parallels are striking -- the same stadium, the same opponent, even the same down and yard line, just on opposite ends of the field. Jayden Daniels' dislocated elbow in Week 9 brought back memories. Yet Griffin was quick to push back, calling the comparisons mere coincidence. "Nope," Griffin said on his podcast. "I am a positive thinker. I believe he will bounce back, as long as they give him the proper amount of time to fully heal. Everyone keeps mentioning me on social media, going into all these diatribes about how they're comparing my situation to Jayden Daniels, but they're really not even close to the same." Griffin, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, suffered a series of right knee injuries that season, beginning with a sprained LCL after taking a direct hit from Baltimore Ravens lineman Haloti Ngata in Week 14. Though he missed only one game, the injury lingered into the postseason. In the NFC Wild Card Game against Seattle, Griffin's knee buckled on a bad snap, leaving him crumpled on the turf. The damage -- torn ACL and LCL ligaments requiring reconstructive surgery -- effectively marked the beginning of the end of one of the most promising rookie campaigns in league history. Daniels, by contrast, appears to have avoided that kind of long-term setback. The 24-year-old dislocated his left elbow in Washington's 38-14 loss to the Seahawks but escaped ligament damage and will not require surgery. The Commanders plan to re-evaluate him after their Week 12 bye rather than place him on injured reserve -- a scenario that amounts to the best-case outcome for a scary-looking injury. Griffin described Washington's environment as one of the biggest differences between his experience and that of Daniels. "There's no infighting in this organization," Griffin said. "The head coach and the owner aren't fighting about who they want the quarterback to be, how they want the offense to be run, who's supposed to be in charge." Under new owner Josh Harris, general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn, Washington's leadership structure is far more unified than during Griffin's time. The front office also built a veteran support system around Daniels -- including offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, receiver Terry McLaurin, tight end Zach Ertz and linebacker Bobby Wagner -- creating the kind of stability Griffin rarely enjoyed. "I can understand the concern and the injury and how that makes Washington fans have PTSD about what happened in 2012 going into 2013," Griffin said. "But Jayden Daniels' story is not like mine."
