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There are still a few football games left on Robert Griffin III’s broadcast schedule and Sunday will be extra special.
With the college football regular season now complete, Griffin will make his first call nfl When playing on Sundays for Fox Sports new Orleans The Saints hosted the Carolina Panthers.
The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner had a good first year with Fox, teaming up with Jason Bennetti to form the network’s No. 2 college football team.
However, the fact that Griffin will call an NFL game in the Superdome holds special meaning for him.
“My family’s roots are in New Orleans. My first time in the NFL was in New Orleans. The first time I put on a headset as an NFL game broadcaster was in New Orleans,” he said.
“God has a way of bringing you back to your roots to remind you of who you are.”
Griffin was the second overall choice by Washington in the 2012 NFL Draft. He won the starting job and passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns in a 40–32 victory over the Saints in Week 1.
Griffin led Washington to the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year before suffering a serious knee injury in the playoffs.
He would spend four seasons with Washington before moving to Cleveland in 2016. After not playing in 2017, he spent three seasons with Baltimore (2018–20).
Griffin joined ESPN in 2021 as a college football game analyst and for studio work on NFL coverage. This included two years as an analyst monday night countdown In 2022 and ’23.
He was let go by ESPN before the start of the 2024 season as part of the network’s budget cuts. He was off television for most of last season before being hired as a college football analyst by Fox during the spring.
Griffin said being out of the booth last year wasn’t difficult because it allowed him to spend time with his family, including coaching his daughter’s flag football team, as well as launch his own podcast with his wife, Grete – Outta Pocket with RGIII. He also coached some high school prospects with a team in the OT7 football league.
He was the studio analyst for Netflix’s Christmas Day doubleheader last year, before Fox made the call a few months later when Brock Huard decided to step down as analyst.
“Being out and away from it taught me that the passion to do this never went away. Fox was the first place I auditioned and immediately saw my potential in both the broadcast booth and the studio. I wanted to make sure I could show them my best when I got there.”
Benetti will call the game with Griffin again on Sunday. Sarah Kustok will join the team as a field reporter after Alexa Landestoy was a reporter during college football games.
Griffin and Benetti established strong chemistry from the first game, despite never working together before.
“We teach football, have fun, and we’re chatting like we’re just two guys at a bar having a couple kicks back, enjoying the game,” Griffin said.
“And to me, that’s what makes it so much fun. It doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like we’re in our element telling stories and reaching these people in the right way that fans really want to know about.
“Jason understands timing and when to bring in a story and how to position his analyst. And I work hard to make sure that wherever Jason wants to go, I can go with him.”