Cleveland Browns: Robert Griffin III A Lock to Start

The Cleveland Browns were happy to give Robert Griffin III a second chance, but refused to guarantee him the starting job. At least at first.

Of course teams love maintain an air of unknown when it comes to who is starting at any position and quarterback is no exception. Besides there is always a chance somebody else on the depth chart impresses them more, ala Russell Wilson in Seattle and seizes the job. Even so, anybody with common sense felt that RGIII was going to be the guy, especially after the Browns elected not to spend any of their high draft choices on a quarterback.

Even so there were so who believe veterans Josh McCown and Austin Davis, or intriguing rookie Cody Kessler from USC at least had an outside shot to come with him. After all, he hasn’t been the same player he was four years ago. NFL history has shown too many times that when a player loses that edge, it almost never comes back.

Regardless, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com believes there isn’t a lot standing between the former Pro Bowler and being on the field when the season starts.

"“I think the odds are very, very high (that Griffin starts Week 1). They want him to be the starting quarterback on day one. They’re not going to have a short leash on him at all.(Browns head coach) Hue Jackson and (offensive coordinator) Pep Hamilton are all in on RG3. They are trying to do everything they possibly can to coax that 2012 type of season out of him again. They see those flashes of greatness, they love the skill set, the mobility, and all those kinds of things. They think they can coach him up into the kind of player who can not only scramble around and get out of the pocket and make crazy things happen like that, but also to stay within the pocket, read the defense, go through the progression. Hugh really believes in himself and what he’s been able to do with quarterbacks since he’s been in the league and he feels that he can be successful with RG3.”"

It’s a calculated gamble. Robert Griffin III is just 26-years old. All accounts seem to verify that he is 100% healthy. There isn’t much of a problem physically. It’s a question mental status. After tearing his ACL at the end of the 2012 season, there seemed to be a breakdown in his capability to handle the duties of a starting quarterback. He became more tentative and a disconnect emerged between him and the coaching staff in Washington. His play began to deteriorate until he finally lost his job to Kirk Cousins.

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The prevailing belief is the experience humbled him and he’s ready to start over with a clean slate. If he does return to the form that made him Rookie of the Year, then the Cleveland Browns’ rise from the ashes may fittingly come from an unlikely phoenix.

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