BEREA: Let the RG3 experiment resume.
Browns coach Hue Jackson named Robert Griffin III the starting quarterback for Sunday’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and made it clear he’ll be auditioning for a chance to become the franchise’s QB of the future after missing 11 games with a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder.
“The fact that we are putting him out there says that,” Jackson said Thursday. “We want to know. I want to know more. I have only seen him really play for not even a full game. The more information, the more time I get an opportunity to evaluate him, the better it is going to be.
“I am not expecting for everything to go perfect. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on anybody. It is his second game in a little over maybe two years, so hopefully it will go right, but if it does not, that is OK, too. We have to go get him to play and hopefully play well, but we all understand the situation that he is in and that he is facing. I think he is up to the challenge.”
Griffin has missed 27 of the past 28 games. He was benched in Washington for the entire 2015 season, then suffered a broken nonthrowing shoulder Sept. 11 in the regular-season opener.
Whether he can defy the odds by rescuing the Browns (0-12) from a winless season remains to be seen, but he’s grateful for a chance to present a case that he could be the team’s answer at quarterback beyond its final four games.
“My job is to go out there and make them believe that,” Griffin said. “Every single day that you come into the building, you have to show the coaches, show the organization you’re going to do what it takes to be that guy.
“That doesn’t change just because they name you the starter or just because you’re playing. It’s an everyday thing, not just a Sunday thing. That’s always been my focus is to come in here and show my teammates that I can do this for them.”
Jackson said he turned to Griffin because he gives the Browns the best chance to beat the Bengals (4-7-1) but also because “it’s important” to further evaluate him with crucial decisions looming in the offseason. The Browns would owe him a roster bonus of $750,000 on March 11 if they were to keep him.
“The more you know, the better you are equipped to make decisions,” said Jackson, whose team owns two first-round picks in April’s draft and could use one to address its grueling search for a bona fide franchise QB.
Even if Griffin bounces back from the fractured shoulder and excels in the last quarter of the season, the Browns cannot afford to dismiss his extensive injury history when choosing how to proceed at QB in the offseason. The league’s offensive rookie of the year in 2012, Griffin has been a disappointment ever since in large part because he’s been hurt so often.
“Everything is weighed,” Jackson conceded. “The most important thing about that position is availability. You have to be available to your football team and able to be out there. I think he gets that. It is unfortunate what happened, and we can’t change that. All he can do is play now and see what he has to show this organization, this team and all of us.”
Griffin completed just 12-of-26 passes (46.2 percent) for 190 yards without a touchdown and an interception for a rating of 55 in the Browns’ 29-10, season-opening loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. He also ran five times for 37 yards and took three sacks.
“Missed opportunities,” Griffin said, “and we can’t have those from my part.”
His three-month layoff was the result of a hit he took from rookie cornerback Jalen Mills as he tried to run out of bounds with 3:41 left in the fourth quarter.
“It is unfortunate what happened with the injury, so there is a lot of time that needed to be made up,” Jackson said. “Hopefully we are past that. I can’t tell you that we are, and I can’t tell you that we are not. We will see on Sunday.
“Obviously, we are going to have to coach him through some things and get him to where he needs to be. But the biggest part is I think he is ready to play from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint and from an emotional standpoint.”
Jackson said he detected no issues with Griffin’s arm strength in the wind and snow during Thursday’s practice. Similar conditions are in the forecast for Sunday.
“He has a snowball. He has a straight ball. He has a long ball,” Jackson said. “He has a lot of different kind of balls, so we are going to find out if he can throw all those balls.”
Griffin’s teammates are hopeful he can provide a spark for an offense that’s scored just 39 points in the past four games.
“He looks really good,” rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman said. “He is really taking to coaching. He is doing everything he needs to do to prepare himself to have a great game.”
Griffin returned to practice Nov. 23 and said he has proved to himself he’s mentally prepared to control the offense.
“As far as getting hit,” he added, “that’s just something that’ll be in the game, and we’ll see what happens.”
In the event a hit sidelines Griffin, rookie Cody Kessler would step in despite coming off his second concussion suffered in a span of 29 days.
“He is fine from a medical standpoint, and I’d like to see him play some more as we move throughout the year,” Jackson said. “There is a possibility for that to happen.”
Jackson chose Kessler instead of 14-year NFL veteran Josh McCown as the No. 2 quarterback for evaluation purposes.
“Josh is one of my favorites, but I think in the situation that we are in now, it is about seeing guys for the future,” Jackson said. “I know what Josh is, and I appreciate everything Josh is and has been. But I think we have to give these younger guys right now an opportunity so we know more.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.