BEREA: Although Browns coach Hue Jackson has yet to name a starting quarterback, he wanted the world to know Robert Griffin III finished mandatory minicamp Thursday by delivering strong throws — plural.
During the second-to-last play of practice, Griffin flashed his ability to launch the deep ball with a touchdown pass of about 50 yards to wide receiver Terrelle Pryor on a go route.
Asked about the nice pass to Pryor in his post-practice news conference, Jackson playfully said, “Only one [good throw]? You guys only saw one?”
Griffin actually followed his touchdown pass to Pryor with a completion of about 25 yards to wide receiver Andrew Hawkins on a crossing route.
“I think he’s gotten better,” Jackson said of Griffin. “I said it yesterday. I’ve been saying it for a while. I know he gets highly scrutinized for a lot of different things, but he has gotten better in a lot of areas, and it goes back to the same thing: These men are allowing the coaching staff to coach them, and we’re trying to do the best job we can of putting them in the right environment so that they can get better, and there’s a lot of guys that have improved from step A to where we are today. We also understand we’ve still got a big hill to climb, and we’re just going to keep climbing until we get there.”
Which is part of the reason why Jackson will extend the quarterback competition into training camp, which begins in late July.
Griffin has taken the vast majority of the first-team reps throughout spring practices. Incumbent starter Josh McCown has received some, and he’s been the best passer on a consistent basis this offseason. Rookie third-round draft pick Cody Kessler is a distant third thus far.
Even though Griffin is in the driver’s seat, Jackson said the quarterback derby in training camp can be characterized as an open competition because he’s not close to naming a starter.
“If you want to say it that way, yes, it is,” Jackson said. “I’m being very honest with you guys. I haven’t come close to really letting my mind go there. I’m just trying to help our football team improve and that position improve as much as I can, and that’s what’s really important as we start getting closer in training camp.”
The Browns signed Griffin in March to a two-year, $15 million contract, and they’re going to give him every chance to win the starting job. But Jackson knows it would foolish to hand Griffin the keys to the offense without making him earn it in training camp — and probably preseason games, too. Remember, Griffin didn’t take a snap in the 2015 regular season. He tumbled from the 2012 NFL offensive rookie of the year who led Washington to the playoffs to a third-string player sitting behind Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy.
Injuries and clashes with coaches and teammates contributed to his downfall in Washington, but a failure to develop as a pocket passer might have been his most significant issue.
Now Jackson and associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton are on a mission to help Griffin overcome. He’s also worked with throwing guru Tom House this offseason and will continue to do so before training camp. Footwork has been emphasized along with reading defenses, throwing the ball away if nothing’s there and sliding to avoid devastating collisions as a runner.
Jackson has seen growth in the most vital area.
“He looks natural [in the pocket] to me,” Jackson said. “He’s checking the ball down, throwing the ball down the field, throwing the ball into tight spaces. He’s improved. I think we’ve all seen that. Let’s be honest. He has. There’s another step. He’s just getting better every day. So he’s got to continue to chase that, and if he does, we’ll see where he can get to. He’s talented, but there’s still work to be done.”
Despite Griffin’s deficiencies as a pocket passer, he took the league by storm four years ago partly because his mobility allowed him to become a formidable weapon while running zone-read plays. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to evolve enough to revive his career, but all signs point to Jackson starting him to find out.
“I don’t have any reservations of anything in our offense that he can’t do,” Jackson said. “Are there some things he does better right today and I think he’ll be better at some things by the time we get to training camp? There’s no question.”
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.