NFL Draft 2012: Washington Redskins Go All-in for Robert Griffin III

There have been a few times in my life where you see a sports team push all of their chips into the middle of a poker table and announce to the world "I'm all-in."

One of the best examples of this was in 1999 when Mike Ditka of the New Orleans Saints traded his entire draft to the Washington Redskins for the right to draft Ricky Williams, a move that was an utter failure.

Now, it's the Redskins betting their future that Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III will be the savior of their franchise—one that hasn't had a true franchise quarterback in years.

The price they're paying for Griffin III is incredibly steep—so steep, in fact, that many people felt this was how much the Colts would command for their first pick and the right to take Andrew Luck.

The Redskins will be sending their 2012, 2013 and 2014 first-round picks and their 2012 second-round pick to the St. Louis Rams for their second pick, which will be sending RG3 to Washington to become DC's No. 1.

On the surface, you think that this is way too much to give up for a rookie, even one with such a good reputation as Griffin. After all, Washington is seriously harming their ability to build through the draft when they'll have no first-round picks now until 2015. 

Still, the Redskins needed to make this move. For a team starving for a franchise quarterback, the Redskins had to take this chance in the hopes RG3 can bring this team back to the glory days.   Washington has a good defense in place, and now they have their quarterback. The next move will be putting quality skill players on the chess board for Griffin to play with.

The high cost for the rights to RG3 stem from the fact that the Redskins had at least one competitor, the Cleavland Browns.  With two first-round draft picks at their disposal this year thanks to their 2011 trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the  Browns could have merely offered all their first- and second-round draft picks this year.

While there is no official word on that theory, it certainly makes sense when you consider the Redskins gave up a third first-round draft pick.

The St. Louis Rams are absolutely giddy. With Sam Bradford at their disposal, they had no need for Griffin and thus no need for the second pick. A team in transition with Jeff Fisher now at the helm, the Rams need as many picks as possible to rebuild. 

With five first-round draft picks in the next three years, the Rams have a golden opportunity to get back to being competitive. Now they just have to utilize it properly.

But talking about the Rams just isn't as sexy as discussing what will happen to one of the NFL's more popular franchises. The next several years will be fascinating to watch to see if Griffin III can live up to the incredibly lofty expectations being set before him.

One thing is for sure, though: Every quarterback matchup in the NFC East is set to be a fun one to watch, especially when Griffin and Michael Vick go at it two times a year.

Will Griffin work out? My gut feeling tells me yes. Could this be a case where both sides win on a trade? It very well could be. As the old saying goes, though, only time will tell.