Cleveland Browns: RG3 was never going to succeed with the Browns
The Cleveland Browns gave Robert Griffin III a chance to turn his career around, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to repeat his past success.
Robert Griffin III came to the Cleveland Browns with the goal of reviving his career. That didn’t exactly happen, although it wasn’t entirely his fault.
Griffin was released by the Browns at the end of last week, ending his tenure in Cleveland and becoming the latest forgettable name to go on that never-ending list of Browns quarterbacks.
Two passing touchdowns in five games was not what Hue Jackson had in mind when he got behind Griffin as the starter, but his presence was never supposed to make the Browns a playoff team. At least not anytime soon.
The goal was to bottom out in 2016, leaving Griffin without much talent on offense. A lackluster defense didn’t help the team’s chances of succeeding either.
The main problem with Griffin was the fact he couldn’t stay healthy throughout his career, which left fans less than surprised when he missed significant time in 2016 after a Week 1 injury.
And when he did come back at the end of the season, the team was already so bad that it was hard for him to make much of a difference. The only memorable part of his tenure is that he was the starting quarterback in the team’s only win, although Cody Kessler came in late to close out the win against the then San Diego Chargers.
Griffin’s release sets up the Browns to invest in a rookie quarterback, ending the trend of bringing in backup quarterbacks who have not had consistent NFL success. Both Griffin and Josh McCown fit under that designation, although it is not like they had much talent to work with.
For Griffin, it may be hard for him to find a job in 2017. His injury problems make it hard for a team to invest in him, and his play in 2016 when healthy was abysmal. Yet he is still young, and as NFL fans know, the quarterback market always allows for surprises.
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It is hard for Browns fans to really have any ill will toward Griffin, as no one expected him to succeed from the start. It is a sad fact that fans lacked faith in him, but hopefully the second year of this rebuilding process will give the team a quarterback to rally around.