Former Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo gives RG3 vote of confidence

Robert Griffin III's third season with the Washington Redskins was marked by a precipitous fall from grace, throwing four touchdowns against six interceptions, and losing support from his home crowd along the way. 

Griffin failed to show the same flashes of brilliance he exhibited during his rookie campaign, where he led the Redskins to a playoff appearance and captured Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. 

Although Griffin reportedly alienated some of his team mates by failing to take responsibility during post-game press conferences after some defeats, the entire locker room wasn't against the 25-year-old quarterback.

Linebacker Brian Orakpo - who signed a four-year deal with the Tennessee Titans earlier in March - advocated for Griffin and said he stuck up for him when pressure mounted on the Redskins' young, new hope. 

"The only thing I've told Griff is to just continue to be himself," Orakpo said on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s "Movin The Chains"  via the Washington Post. "You can't appease everybody. Everybody is going to think of you as one way, but you really know who you are. RG's a good guy, man. He's a guy that works extremely hard, has great character, and needs to, obviously, stay healthy so that he can perform and get back to the level that he was his rookie year."

During his rookie season, Griffin threw 20 touchdowns and rushed for seven more while throwing a mere five interceptions. He also led the Redskins to the NFC East title. However, Griffin's knee buckled in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, re-aggravating an ACL and PCL injury. 

Once viewed as the face of the franchise upon being selected second overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, Griffin appears to have a tenuous lead in the Redskins' starting quarterback race. 

Orakpo said he vouched for Griffin when he came under fire from the national media last season, and Redskins head coach Jay Gruden last season. 

"I always tried to stay positive with him when he was handling all that adversity that he was going through,” Orakpo said. "But I think he'll be able to turn it around once he's able to stay healthy, and prove everybody wrong, and not be too much worried about the criticism and the bad stuff that goes around being the quarterback of a big-time franchise like the Redskins."