Browns putting hopes in Griffin
BEREA, Ohio — He’s now RG4.3.
Trying to revive a once soaring career that crashed badly in Washington, quarterback Robert Griffin III believes he has a leg up — two of them actually — over the competition to win Cleveland’s starting job.
As the Browns prepared to open training camp Friday under first-year coach Hue Jackson, Griffin gave his assessment of the QB field.
“There’s only one of us that runs 4.3,” he joked, noting his blazing time in the 40yard dash. “They like to race me a lot.”
Cleveland’s other quarterbacks might not catch him. They won’t have time.
Griffin is expected to beat out veterans Josh McCown, Austin Davis and rookie Cody Kessler for the top gig and become Cleveland’s 25th starting quarterback since 1999 — and the one the Browns hope finally pulls them from the NFL’s basement.
Griffin signed a two-year contract in March with the Browns, who are eager to see if Griffin, 26, can recapture the magic he showed while electrifying the NFL as a rookie in 2012. While that was only four years ago, it seems like ages, and even Griffin isn’t entirely sure if he can get back to being the player he once was.
Hours before his first practice, Griffin was asked how to get his game back to its jawdropping rookie level.
“I just think you have fun,” he said. “It’s a kid’s game that we get to play for a king’s ransom. At the end of the day, you know what you’re doing. You’ve done your studying, you worked hard, you’ve run, you’ve lifted, all those things. Now you’ve just got to come out here and have fun. I think that’s the beauty of the game, the more fun you have the easier it is for you to play freely and go out and make plays.”
Jackson plans to name his starter before the team’s first exhibition game Aug. 12 at Green Bay, giving the quarterbacks 11 practices or scrimmages — at most — to make an impression.
Griffin didn’t offer much of an opinion on Jackson’s timetable, while McCown, 37, who started eight games in 2015 for Cleveland, believes it’s best to get such an impactful decision — and potential disruption — out of the way.
“I think it gives us a sense of direction and the way he’s headed,” McCown said. “The team and everyone can get behind the guy and move forward. We’re all supportive of that. I just think sometimes if it drags out and lingers it can be a distraction. You name a guy and move forward, and everybody gets behind that guy. I trust his leadership on that.”
Griffin took the majority of snaps Friday with Cleveland’s starting offense, but Jackson said that was more because McCown doesn’t need as much work than any kind of pecking order. Griffin’s stunning fall in Washington led to speculation about whether his skills are declining. He had surgery after the 2012 season, and his release in March sparked talk that his career might be in jeopardy.
Jackson, though, believes Griffin remains a superior athlete.
“I know people have questioned where he is physically,” Jackson said. “I don’t see that. He’s still Robert Griffin. The same guy that came out in 2012, but just wiser. He’s been through a lot of different systems and a lot of different things and I think he has grown by leaps and bounds.”