It’s been a long road for Robert Griffin III. After he was released by the Redskins, Griffin wound up in Cleveland as the Browns’ starting quarterback in 2016. He was immediately injured and ended up playing only a few games, and was released after the year. After that he spent the entire 2017 season out of football, and it looked like his career might be coming to an end. But then Griffin inked a deal with the Ravens out of nowhere this past spring, and made the team. While he’s been the third stringer behind Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson and inactive most of the season, Griffin is just happy to be back in the league, and he described his journey in a recent sit down with Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
“It’s been special because I was not guaranteed a roster spot at the beginning of the year. I had a non-guaranteed contract, a minimal signing bonus and I had to earn it every step of the way”, Griffin said. Griffin was projected to be cut by most analysts because John Harbaugh has very rarely kept three quarterbacks on the active roster, but he had an impressive preseason and earned a spot. Zrebiec writes the Ravens first became interested in the former Heisman Trophy winner in the summer of 2017, but Griffin thought the timing wasn’t right. Griffin also reflected on his experience losing his job in Washington to Kirk Cousins while he was out with an injury, and how it relates to what Flacco is going through right now. The whole conversation is definitely worth a read.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Texans have been very impressive this year, but they still have a bunch of holes on the roster as they look to build around Deshaun Watson. The team could use help on the offensive line and in the secondary, and John McClain of the Houston Chronicle “strongly believe[s]” that the team will “get an offensive tackle and a cornerback in the first two rounds” of next year’s draft. McClain is as plugged in as any beat writer in the game, so he certainly has a feel for what the organization is thinking. The Texans have an extra second round pick thanks to the Duane Brown trade, so they’ll have plenty of ammo to acquire top talent.
- The Texans have been without an offensive coordinator for a while, but that could change soon. Head coach Bill O’brien has been acting as his own offensive coordinator since he fired George Godsey, and McClain thinks their tight ends coach Tim Kelly will be their next offensive coordinator, saying that he’s “highly thought of” within the building.
- The Saints will be without starting left tackle Terron Armstead for at least another week, according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link). Armstead has now missed the last month of the season with a pectoral injury. Drew Brees‘ pass protection has fallen off without Armstead, and Brees has struggled a bit with the additional pressure in recent weeks.
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RG3 would be a good backup for Lamar next year when they move Flacco out.
Yup, was thinking the same, all hinges on whether Harbaugh is retained though
I don’t think it does. Whoever the bring in to coach if they fire Harbaugh will have to b completely on board with Lamar Jackson or it’s a non starter to hire that coach. RG3 will b a quality backup/mentor for Lamar for the next few years.
I agree, whoever is coach will still want RG3. Harbaugh will be gone no matter what. They already said that. I honestly think he should stay. Flacco never developed because he had a new OC and system almost every year. You can’t do that to Lamar or he will fail miserably.
Texans need a new head coach. BOB gets out coached every game. He throws timeouts away every game. They are winning in spite of him this season.
Agee completely.
RG3 will remain in Baltimore next year. Flacco will be gone and he is a cheap option at backup. He already knows the team and can teach Lamar since they are more alike. Flacco doesn’t seem to have any interest in helping him or any interest in being a back up.
I hope ravens keep griffin hes an awesome backup and is reasonably cheap and a good insurance policy