Former No. 2 pick pleads case to be Browns starting QB: 'Hit my line'
Robert Griffin III has settled in nicely to his post-NFL career, serving as an analyst for ESPN since 2021. Nevertheless, the desire to compete on Sundays hasn't dissipated for the former No. 2 overall pick in recent years — so much so that Griffin is pitching himself as the replacement for Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.
Speaking Thursday on his “RG3 and The Ones” podcast, Griffin made a public service announcement to a Browns franchise searching for answers under center, stating that "they need to hit my line."
"The Browns should sign me as their starting quarterback," Griffin boldly proclaimed.
Not short on confidence, the former Offensive Rookie of the Year believes he can help the Browns make their first Super Bowl push in team history.
"I can go out there and manage a game for the Cleveland Browns and help them go on a Super Bowl run that they want to go on," he added.
Griffin, 33, has not appeared in an NFL game since 2020, when he served as a backup to Lamar Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens. Fittingly enough, his most recent stretch as a starter came as a member of the Browns, where he logged five starts for Cleveland in 2016, going 1-4 over that span.
With Watson set to miss the remainder of the 2023 NFL season with a shoulder injury, the Browns have anointed rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the starter at quarterback. Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick out of UCLA, turned heads during the preseason, leading the team in passing yards (440) and completion percentage (63.8).
His lone start during the regular season did not go nearly as well, as Thompson-Robinson tossed three interceptions in a Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Still, the rookie presents the highest upside among the realistic quarterback options Cleveland has at their disposal — including Griffin.
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