When the Cleveland Browns traded back with the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday, many assumed that they weren't sold on either North Dakota State's Carson Wentz or Cal's Jared Goff, the top two quarterback prospects in this year's draft. This led those around the NFL to believe that the Browns were comfortable with free agent addition Robert Griffin III as the starting quarterback. However, that assumption may have been premature.
Though RGIII is arguably the most talented passer on Cleveland's roster at the moment, it doesn't mean that he's going to sit atop the depth chart when the regular season rolls around. Acting general manager Sashi Brown made sure that he and the rest of the football world understood that.
"Robert is not even our starting quarterback," Brown said Thursday. "He's got to earn the spot."
So, Griffin doesn't have the job locked up after all. It sounds like he'll have to compete with Connor Shaw, Austin Davis and Josh McCown for the starting gig (though McCown may be on his way out). Still, the fact that the Browns pulled the trigger on a move to get out of the No. 2 slot has to bode well for Griffin's chances.
Brown likes the secondary QB prospects in this draft, but he doesn't think that there's a go-to guy this year.
#Browns exec Sashi Brown said we see good quarterbacks in second tier of this class, but hard to find franchise QB anywhere
— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) April 21, 2016
Griffin will have to hit the ground running to ensure his place on the depth chart, no easy task after he didn't take a single snap last season. It would be understandable if he were a bit rusty at the start of training camp. It would also be understandable if he never regained his sensational rookie form.
Griffin lit the league on fire during his first season in 2012, but a handful of factors have contributed to his decline since then. In four seasons, RGIII has dealt with two serious leg injuries while squabbling with coaches and failing to develop as a pocket passer. In 2014, Griffin appeared in his final nine games for Washington, completing 68.7 percent of his passes while throwing for four touchdowns against six interceptions.
