AP

When Washington executive V.P. of football operations Bruce Allen recently discussed the status of quarterback Robert Griffin III, it became clear for the first time that the team will be moving on without him in 2016. So why haven’t they already done so?

Per multiple sources, Washington is holding out hope for a possible trade.

For a trade to happen, Griffin would have to be willing to dramatically restructure his contract. As one source explained it, Griffin would potentially be willing to do that for the right team.

But the “right team” will still be there after Griffin is released, and that inevitably will happen before his 2016 base salary becomes fully guaranteed on April 1.

From Griffin’s perspective, the fact that a team would be willing to even explore a trade demonstrates genuine interest. The best way to prove interest would be to make the trade — with Griffin agreeing to the same contract he’d get on the open market.

It’s all highly unlikely at this point. But with Washington not required to cut Griffin until March 8, there’s no reason to forfeit the opportunity to do a deal, even if the chances of the opportunity arising are slim.