Cleveland Browns: RG3 could be fighting for the starting job in 2017
The Cleveland Browns are pursuing all options when it comes to finding a starting quarterback, and Robert Griffin III still remains as an option.
The quarterback talk is rampant among Cleveland Browns fans this offseason. And now that the team has two first-round picks in the NFL Draft, the chances of finding talent increases.
This does not mean the team has to draft a quarterback in the first round, but picks can be traded to acquire someone like Jimmy Garoppolo, who the Browns have been linked to for the past month.
There is also the option of signing a player, such as Tyrod Taylor, or even drafting a quarterback in a later round.
But one option some are already dismissing involves 2016’s Week 1 starter, Robert Griffin III. Griffin, along with Cody Kessler, have nearly been forgotten by fans who have all chosen one player not currently on the roster as their favorite to be the starter in 2017.
Kessler seems like a lock to be on the roster, although it does not appear that he has a strong chance to be the Week 1 starter in 2017.
Some fans may have also already written off Griffin’s chances in 2017 of not only being the starter, but of being on the roster in general.
It all depends on what the Browns do in free agency and in the draft, but there is no reason for Griffin to believe he doesn’t have a shot to start, at least right now. Hue Jackson brought him in to be the starter last year, and even though things didn’t go well, he did only have a limited time to show his abilities after an absence from the game. This could mean Jackson wants to give Griffin another shot to prove he is the same player he was back in 2012.
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The Browns obviously need a quarterback, but the rest of the team needs to be built up too before any quarterback can succeed, especially a rookie.
This means the No. 1 and No. 12 overall picks should focus on positions other than quarterback, and this means not trading the picks either.
The lack of a trade may end the possibility of getting Garoppolo, given he is even available in a deal, leaving Tyrod Taylor as the only logical option for the Browns to go out and get. And he is still technically a member of the Bills, so that possibility is still unknown.
And with a strong 2018 QB class, the Browns may opt to roll with either Griffin or Kessler in 2017. This would upset some fans, but the results on the field should be better given some influx of talent and the maturation of last year’s rookies.
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Rebuilding isn’t a short process, and one more year of rough quarterback play may be ahead for Browns fans. But who knows? Maybe Griffin will shake off the 2016 rust and come back better in 2017.