The Redskins will exercise the fifth-year option on quarterback Robert Griffin III's rookie contract, general manager Scot McCloughan announced Monday.
"He's a good football player," McCloughan said when asked why.
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If Griffin doesn't play up to the Redskins' standards this season, the team can cut him without paying his $16.155 million salary for 2016, the Washington Post notes. That number only becomes guaranteed if Griffin suffers a serious injury this season.
Griffin, who was selected by Washington as the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, is now under contract through the 2016 season. Coach Jay Gruden said in February that Griffin would remain the starter heading into 2015.
"I think just coming back with more knowledge of the system, more confidence of where he’s supposed to throw, getting the ball out of his hands on time," Gruden said via the team's website. "We’ll work with his footwork and his accuracy, and all that good stuff. The big thing is decision making: where to go with the ball and why, and this will help his decisiveness."
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Last season, Griffin suffered a dislocated left ankle in the first quarter of the Redskins' Week 2 win over the Jaguars. He returned after being sidelined for six games to start seven of nine total games, recording 1,694 passing yards and four touchdowns.
"I look forward to making the offense more tailored to what I do well or what we do well as a team — offensive line, running backs and receivers," Griffin said. "That’s what it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to complement what we do well. That’s what we’re going to get to — find our identity and stick to that."
Griffin, 25, earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2012 in addition to establishing NFL rookie records for passer rating (102.4), percentage of passes intercepted (1.27) and rushing yards by a quarterback (815). The next year, he became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to post 3,000 passing yards in each of his first two seasons.