The Washington Redskins will likely keep Robert Griffin III at least until after the 2016 season as reports indicate the team has decided to exercise their fifth-year option on the quarterback's contract.

Rumors about the decision came out on Monday morning, which was immediately confirmed by Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan, who said that are confident about their decision to keep RGIII, who has a base salary of $3.27 million this year and a guaranteed salary of $16.2 million next season.

The Redskins have until Sunday to make a decision on their fifth-year option, but McCloughan revealed that they have already decided about it "a while" back despite the fact Griffin failed to live up to expectations in his first season under Jay Gruden.

"He's a good football player," McCloughan said of Griffin. "He's got the tape out there. Everyone knows what he did in 2012 when he was offensive rookie of the year. This offseason will be his second in the system, being healthy, being able to go through the offseason."

Griffin, who was the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, made immediate impact for the Redskins in 2012 when he completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns. He also rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns during his rookie season.

The 25-year-old then completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 3,203 yards and rushed for 489 yards during his second season in the league. However, Griffin failed to hit his target last season as he threw for 1,694 yards with just four touchdowns against six interceptions.

Gruden, who also started quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy in place of Griffin last season, has been vocal about his support to Griffin over the past months and said that the former Baylor standout will be their No. 1 quarterback heading into the 2015 NFL season.

However, Griffin could face stiffer competition as McCloughan confirmed that exercising their fifth-year option on Griffin does not necessarily mean they will not consider picking a quarterback in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Redskins own the fifth pick in the draft and might have a chance to acquire Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.

"It does not affect our draft process whatsoever," McCloughan said. "If we get to the fifth pick and the best player's a quarterback, we're taking a quarterback. We like the three we have, but again, we're not going to pass on a good football player. There's no reason to."

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