Cleveland Browns: RG3 has chance to truly end “The Jersey”

News of the retirement of the Cleveland Browns jersey featuring all the QBs since 1999  does nothing to change the tradition of turnover at the position.

News broke yesterday that the infamous Cleveland Browns jersey featuring all the starting quarterbacks since 1999 is being retired by owner Tim Brokaw.

It is nice to see a symbol of Cleveland sports failure be taken down, but it will not change the fact the Browns have been searching for a franchise quarterback since 1999.

Robert Griffin III is likely to add his name to that list at the start of the 2016 season, and as with many of the names on the list, he has a chance to bring some stability to the quarterback position.

But Griffin has an advantage over the others because of the state of the team upon his arrival. He will be the first Browns quarterback to play under Hue Jackson, which is an amazing advantage in itself.

Jackson’s main attribute is his ability to work with quarterbacks, as seen by his work with Andy Dalton in Cincinnati.

Jackson will be a great help, but Griffin also has the luxury, or the misfortune depending on how one views the situation, of joining a team in the midst of a rebuild.

Josh McCown came to the Browns in 2015 at the end of his career to serve as a gap quarterback, but Griffin is only 26 years old. He didn’t even appear in a regular season game last season, so he enters 2016 healthier than he has been in a long time.

Simply staying healthy should mean Griffin will be given the opportunity to start all 16 games in 2016, unless he comes out and plays like the 2008 version of Derek Anderson.

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There are some who believe Cody Kessler has a chance to start at some point in 2016, but Griffin would have to go out and lose the job as opposed to Kessler beating him out in training camp. It would be unfair to Kessler to throw him into the fire as the starter at the beginning of the season, so Griffin is safe in the role as starter, for now.

The hope being put into Griffin ending up as the franchise quarterback is the same feeling that has been associated with the long list of names on Brokaw’s now-retired jersey. He has Jackson to help, but Griffin’s chances will rely on the protection of the offensive line and his own decision-making to stay healthy and even have a shot to start all 16 games.

But if he can start every game this season the Browns will be in great shape heading into 2017, and not having to worry about the quarterback position for once would be a feat in itself.