BOCA RATON, FLA.: Resurrecting the career of free-agent quarterback Robert Griffin III will likely require heavy lifting, but some members of the NFL’s coaching fraternity believe Hue Jackson has the necessary strength.
Jackson and Griffin would join forces if the second overall pick in the 2012 draft signs with the Browns after impressing the head coach during a visit to team headquarters this past weekend. A union appears likely.
“That would be a smart move,” Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who worked with Jackson in Cincinnati, said Wednesday as the NFL owners meetings wrapped up at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. “Hue’s great with quarterbacks and when you have a talented guy, these guys don’t fall off the face off the earth. The guy was the rookie of the year. He had an unbelievable rookie season and he has an awful lot of ability, and these guys that have a couple of down years and they change teams, they figure out ways to get back on track.”
Few high-profile players in NFL history have experienced such a dramatic rise and fall in such a short period of time.
“For me, right now, it would have to be going back and looking in his eyes and finding out, are the scars too deep?” said Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, who thoroughly evaluated Griffin before the 2012 draft. “But talent-wise? He’s got all the talent in the world.”
Griffin, 26, took the league by storm and led Washington to the NFC East title as a rookie four years ago. He went 9-7, including one playoff game, during the 2012 season.
However, he suffered torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his right knee during a postseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 6, 2013, and has since gone 5-15 as a starter. Injuries and trouble developing as a pocket passer have hindered the former Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor University.
Last year, he suffered a concussion in a preseason game and lost the starting job to Kirk Cousins, who led the team to the NFC East championship. Griffin didn’t take a snap, and Washington cut him on March 7. The team applied its franchise tag to Cousins this offseason, securing him with a one-year contract worth nearly $20 million.
“It was really about Kirk’s emergence is really what happened,” Washington coach Jay Gruden said. “It’s not like Robert tanked it. We just wanted to make a change. It was because we just felt Kirk had such a good OTAs and training camp. We just felt like he was progressing at a faster rate, which is why we made the change. So I think Robert still can play in this league for sure. He just needs another opportunity.”
Jackson spoke Tuesday as if Griffin’s next chance could very well be with the Browns, who might also use the second overall pick to draft California’s Jared Goff or North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz as their quarterback of the future on April 28.
“Everybody believes I like [Griffin] — I do,” Jackson said. “He’s a good young man. But to me, we’re still in our process. We’re not going to just jump on the table and just go do something to do it. We have to weigh all the factors here.”
Griffin has a reputation for being a bad teammate and clashing with coaches. So the Browns must consider how he would fit in their locker room, especially if they draft a quarterback early. Jackson revealed he has already told Griffin he should be ready to compete with a rookie.
“I never had an issue with Robert at all,” Gruden said. “I think a lot of that stuff gets blown up. But Robert will be a fine teammate wherever he goes.”
Jackson said Griffin took responsibility for his career fizzling and acknowledged he made mistakes in Washington. Jackson suggested sitting on the bench last year humbled Griffin.
“It had to have some affect on him, and you’re hoping as a quarterback it has a positive effect,” Gruden said. “Sometimes when you have to take a backseat, you sit back and you take advantage of your mental reps and you learn from it and you come back stronger than ever. The good thing is he’s going to be 110 percent health-wise, and that’s going to be very important.”
The Browns have made calls for character references on Griffin, but Jackson hasn’t spoken to Gruden about him yet. The two coaches worked together in Cincinnati.
“I haven’t talked to Hue at all about Robert, but I think a change of scenery could be good for Robert,” Gruden said. “I think sometimes you just want to get out of a situation and start new and fresh and learn something new, and I think it would be a good fit because a lot of things that Hue does I believe are similar.”
Jackson has guaranteed the Browns will draft a quarterback next month. But no matter whom they plan to pick and where, Jackson said they would like to add a veteran quarterback by the start of the offseason conditioning program on April 4. If they want a vet to serve as a bridge to a rookie, Gruden said Griffin could still be a viable starter.
“Of course,” Gruden said. “He’s very talented obviously. We all know that. We saw what he did as a rookie. And now he’ll just continue to gain knowledge of systems and keep him healthy and on the field. I think he’s got a chance.”
Health will be an important factor for Griffin as will improving from the pocket.
“I just think he had a couple injuries which hampered his ability to perform at the high level that he was his rookie year,” Gruden said. “I think he’s fully healthy now, and I think he’s ready to compete. He can do the zone read. He can run the bootlegs and all that stuff that make him effective outside the pocket. But I think eventually he’s going to have to continue to master the drop-back passing game in the NFL, which he needs to continue to do and he will do.”
Griffin certainly must make strides to revive his career, but Gruden is convinced his confidence is not broken.
“You have to be mentally tough and confident to handle adversity,” Gruden said. “Robert’s gone through some now, and I think he’s going to come out of it on the good end.”
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.