Even sidelined with a knee injury after he was left for too long in last Sunday’s season-ender against the Seattle Seahawks, RGIII could make this happen. At just 22 years old, he has the owner’s ear and the city’s heart. With his incredible QB skills and laid-back demeanor, this transcendent kid from Texas could be the Chosen One, all right — the one person who could make Redskins owner Daniel Snyder come to his senses and realize that it’s time to stop demeaning Native Americans simply because his paraphernalia sells and because, as the story goes, the future billionaire had a Redskins belt buckle as a boy.

But I fear that Griffin is not that guy, and not just because he’ll be focused for the next few months on physical therapy. No young, dynamic leader of an NFL team is that guy. Pro players who take on controversial social debates are gone, replaced by athletes whose goal is to not offend — because that would mean fewer commercials, a loss of sponsors and, God forbid, a Q rating lower than Michael Jordan’s. …

Instead of Alis, Browns, Ashes or Floods, who do we have? Only RGIII — a young man with a pocketful of sponsorships.