Quarterback Robert Griffin III hoped to resurrect his NFL career with the Browns.
And coach Hue Jackson thought if anyone could help Griffin make it happen, he could.
The experiment failed, and they were both left disappointed in the end.
The Browns terminated the contract of Griffin on Friday.
The move comes as no surprise. The Browns would have owed Griffin a roster bonus of $750,000 had he been on the team Saturday. The release saves them $6.9 million in salary-cap space.
“Thank you #DawgPound ,” Griffin tweeted with a photograph of him holding his Browns jersey. “All love. #TheWorkContinues #ImHungry .”
Griffin, 27, entered last season as the starter, but he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder late in the regular-season opener. He missed 11 games with the injury and returned to action after a three-month layoff to start the final four.
He finished 1-4 as a starter for the 1-15 Browns, dropping his career record to 15-26, including 0-1 in the playoffs. He completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 886 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions, posting a rating of 72.5 and taking 22 sacks. He ran 31 times for 190 yards (6.1 average) and two touchdowns.
This is the second consecutive offseason in which Griffin has been cut. Washington let him go last year before the Browns signed him to a two-year, $15 million contract on March 24, 2016.
He has yet to recover professionally from his dramatic downfall.
The second overall pick in the 2012 draft, Griffin took the league by storm five years ago, leading Washington to the NFC East title and the postseason as well as earning a Pro Bowl selection and the league’s offensive rookie of the year award. He went 9-7, including playoffs, during his magical season.
However, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a postseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 6, 2013, and has since gone 6-19 as a starter. Injuries, trouble developing as a pocket passer and clashes with coaches and teammates in Washington led him to Cleveland.
Less than a year after Griffin’s arrival, the Browns are searching for their next starting quarterback.
They have Brock Osweiler after making a trade Thursday with the Houston Texans for a 2018 second-round pick, but the Browns don’t envision Osweiler being a factor for them in 2017 and could trade or release him.
That would leave second-year players Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan as the only quarterbacks on the roster.
The Browns drafted Kessler in the third round last year. He played well at times but went 0-8 as a starter and suffered two concussions. Jackson also benched Kessler during a Thursday night game after lamenting his struggles in the deep passing attack.
The Browns signed Hogan to their practice squad last year after he was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2016. He played but didn’t start.
The Browns are expected to try to trade for New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but the Patriots plan to keep him.
With so many people wondering whether the Browns can change the mind of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a farewell to Boston social media post on Garoppolo’s Instagram account created a stir early Friday morning. A photograph of Garoppolo included the following caption: “So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston.”
However, the post was deleted later Friday morning, and Garoppolo’s agent Donald Yee told NFL Network, “Jimmy’s social media account was hacked.”
The situation is emblematic of how bizarre the Browns’ quest for a quarterback has been over the years. Another chapter ended with Griffin’s release.
Perhaps the next one will begin April 27 in the first round of the draft, when the Browns could target a top-rated quarterback like Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky or Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer.
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.