*The Cleveland Browns have a new quarterback.
IT’S OFFICIAL.
Welcome to the #DawgPound, Robert Griffin III!
?: https://t.co/7d1kexnVpU pic.twitter.com/fvaliFSE8u
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 24, 2016
According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the team is expected to sign Robert Griffin III on Thursday. The 26-year-old QB was released by the Washington Redskins on March 7, two days before his 2016 option, worth $16,155,000 would have become guaranteed.
According to ESPN, Griffin visited Cleveland March 18 and 19, and coach Hue Jackson was impressed with the athlete, who did not play a down in 2015.
“Our visit was very informative, a lot of dialogue back and forth,” Jackson said Tuesday at the NFL owners’ meetings. “A lot of tough questions asked, a lot of tough questions answered. I don’t baby people. I’m sorry. That’s just not who I am. I ask the tough questions and I expect to get the tough answers, and he handled all that extremely well.”
Griffin was the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, after the Redskins traded two first-round picks and a second and swapping first-rounders with the Rams. The Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t lived up to the success he enjoyed as a rookie, when he guided the Redskins to an NFC East title and was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year after setting an NFL record for rookies with a 102.4 passer rating.
However, he partially tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in December of that season and then tore the ACL in that knee in a playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Friction with the coaching staff came to light that offseason and 2013 was the last season he was a full-time starter before he was shut down with three games to go by then-coach Mike Shanahan due to the high number of sacks he was taking.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!