BEREA: Wearing a black sling on his left arm and an orange bucket hat on his head, Robert Griffin III stood behind fellow Browns quarterback Josh McCown and slowly went through the motions as the offense ran plays during Wednesday’s practice.
Griffin also sat in the front row during a team meeting and helped teammates in a walk through.
He’s trying his best to remain engaged, upbeat and a valuable member of the Browns while dealing with the latest setback in his injury-riddled career.
“I love this team, and I’m going to be here,” Griffin said. “I believe in these guys, so God willing, I’ll be able to come back this year and play, and I’m going to make sure my mind’s right and get my body back righteous, so I can have the opportunity.
“I’ve been through a lot in my career. You fight through a lot of things. I came to the conclusion that God has a different story for me to tell right now, and this is going to be part of it. So I look forward to coming back from this.”
Griffin will miss at least eight games beginning Sunday when the Browns (0-1) face the Baltimore Ravens (1-0) in the home opener at FirstEnergy Stadium. There’s also a real possibility he could miss the rest of the season after suffering a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder this past weekend in a season-opening 29-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
He’ll be re-evaluated in three to four weeks to determine whether surgery is needed. He declined to comment on the likelihood of surgery or whether needing it definitely would end his season.
“All I can do is take care of what I can take care of, do exactly what the doctors ask me to do,” he said. “They asked me to wear a sling, so I’m wearing sling. Just do exactly what they tell me to do and then see what happens in three or four weeks and pray for the best and just keep my mind sharp and ready to roll.
“Everybody’s goal is to play, so it’s not anything that I’m going to rush back into. It’s more, if the doctors say I’m good, the trainers say I’m good, and my body feels good, then that is the goal. It’s not something where I’m saying, ‘All bets are off, it doesn’t matter what they say, I’m going back out there.’ I just want to do the right thing.”
In the meantime, Griffin is determined to be involved.
“I think it’s great to have him out there [at practice],” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “I think he needs to be around his teammates, and I’m sure they need to be around him. It’s unfortunate it happened, but those things happen. But he’ll grow from it, learn from it and we will, too.”
A significant injury would be a bummer for any player, but there are more reasons for disappointment than usual in this scenario.
The Browns signed Griffin to a two-year, $15 million contract in March because Jackson believed he could revive the 2012 NFL offensive rookie of the year’s career in the aftermath of his downfall in Washington. Head of football operations Sashi Brown said last week the organization viewed Griffin, 26, as a potential long-term solution at quarterback.
Jackson named Griffin the starter last month. Then his teammates voted him a captain last week.
His comeback attempt, however, came to a screeching halt after just one game with his new team. He explained he felt like he was seeing the game better and playing at a higher level than he had in previous seasons despite his lackluster debut with the Browns (12-of-26 passing for 190 yards with an interception and a passer rating of 55).
“It wasn’t an accident,” Griffin said. “God has a plan, and my plan right now isn’t to play Week 2 and to be ready whenever He says it’s my time to get back out there.”
Griffin has had to endure several injuries.
He suffered a torn anterior cruciate in his right knee at Baylor University in 2009, then a torn ACL and lateral collateral ligament in the same knee with Washington during the 2012 playoffs. He had a dislocated ankle in 2014 and concussions in 2012 and 2015.
“You just can’t think that [you’re snakebit], and I’ve only missed eight games in my career due to injury,” he said. “So you just got to make sure you stay focused, keep your mindset right and don’t let that affect you.”
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called Griffin on Monday night to encourage him.
“He had worked really hard to come back from injuries and played well, had been voted team captain,” Haslam said Wednesday during the team’s radiothon on ESPN Cleveland WKNR (850-AM). “... We had a great conversation. I think he accepts it. He’s going to work hard to get back.”
Griffin said he wanted to keep the message he received from Haslam private, but he shed light on his mindset after the discussion.
“It’s the people who don’t quit in life who end up making it and achieve all of their goals,” he said. “So that’s kind of the focus that I have right now — to stay in it with the team, stay in it mentally, and then when I’m physically ready to get back out there, I’ll be out there.”
Many outsiders have criticized Griffin for not sliding to avoid the collision that caused the injury. With the Browns trailing 22-10 and facing third-and-14 from their 4-yard line, he took off running. As he ran out of bounds 3 yards shy of a first down, Eagles rookie cornerback Jalen Mills hit him in the chest and shoulder area, then Griffin landed on his left arm as he fell.
Mills shed a block from tight end Gary Barnidge and had his feet out of bounds when he suddenly appeared in Griffin’s path on the sideline. Griffin also received a slight push in the back from cornerback Ron Brooks just before he reached the sideline.
“I’m trying to run out of bounds, and the guy comes from out of bounds back inbounds and hits me,” Griffin said. “It’s not that it’s an illegal play on his part, I don’t know, and I don’t think it was necessarily a dirty play. I just think it was something that was unfortunate that happened. If you watch my reaction, I was surprised as anybody else, so I wasn’t trying to run anybody over or make it a bravado moment.
“Fluke things happen and you just accept that and power through it, make sure you have the right mindset to conquer it. And I’m thankful for the people around me, coaches, players, that they’ve helped me keep the right mindset and my experiences in life have shown me what I need to do.”