After struggling with a series of quarterbacks, including the team’s release of the troubled Johnny Manziel, the Cleveland Brows announced the signing of former Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III.
The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner told reporters on Thursday he was looking forward to playing in Cleveland.
Griffin, known as RG3, was drafted by the Redskins in 2012 and was the second overall pick that year and initially showed great promise, winning the 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year award. He reached the Pro Bowl in 2012, led his team to the postseason, and also earned the 59th “perfect game” in NFL history.
But even after suffering a concussion on the field during a preseason game and then sitting out the 2015 season, Griffin insisted he is in great shape and looking forward to being a Browns starter this coming season.
“I feel great,” Griffin said. “God has been good throughout the years. Maybe I’ll write a book about it later, but right now, I’m not focused on that kind of stuff. I’m just really happy to be feeling good and moving forward.”
With the Browns’ terrible record with quarterbacks recently, RG3 could be a welcome change, but even he noted his career has slipped.
Speaking of where his career has ended up of late, Griffin said, “I just feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do – I know that – to not only get back to where I was personally in 2012 but to where we want to be as a team and where I want to be as a professional. I’m ready to work. I’ve never been afraid of that. I look forward to being able to do that with my teammates coming up on April 4.”
RG3 went on to praise Browns head coach Hue Jackson for his “excitement for the game” and his “proven track record” working with quarterbacks.
Jackson also noted his excitement over the signing.
“We are excited about Robert joining the Cleveland Browns,” Jackson said on Thursday. “He brings starting experience to our team and organization. He’s a young, athletic, talented passer and he’s really just starting out in this league. Just like every player on our team, Robert will have to earn every opportunity he gets. He will compete with the rest of the quarterbacks on our roster and he helps improve our QB room, which was one of my goals upon taking the job. It’s a special room and we want to put special people and players in that room.”
“We are excited to add Robert to our team,” Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown said during the announcement. “Robert possesses a unique skill set at the quarterback position. He has played at a high level in this league and is intent on doing everything in his power to return to that level on a consistent basis. After meeting with him, having him work out for us and doing our diligent research, we felt it was right to grant him an opportunity with our organization.
“We were able to see and feel his passion and commitment to re-establishing himself as a starting quarterback in this league and his embrace of the hard work that will be is essential to his development. We’ve been clear on the importance of improving and stabilizing the quarterback position for our franchise. We have said that the draft is and will be our primary focus, but we will always look to complement the draft through free agency, and this is one of those examples.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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