Robert Griffin III has started just four games with the Cleveland Browns and his availability for the season finale isn’t yet known, but some Browns players have seen enough to feel comfortable with Griffin starting for the team again in 2017.
The Browns are in line for the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL draft and possibly another top-10 pick by way of the Philadelphia Eagles. But longtime Cleveland offensive tackle Joe Thomas said Griffin has shown enough for the Browns to not jump at the chance to start a rookie next season.
“I think you’ve seen franchise-level talent for sure and I wouldn’t write him off by any stretch of the imagination,” Thomas said of Griffin, via the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he was our guy at the beginning of next season because I think he’s shown enough that if they do decide to make Robert the guy, I think he can definitely be the guy and I think he’d have the support of the locker room.”
It was Griffin at quarterback for the team’s 20-17 win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 16, snapping a 17-game losing streak and narrowly avoiding an 0-16 season for the Browns. He suffered a concussion near the end of the game — which he has since been cleared to return from — and was replaced by Cody Kessler.
But in four starts, Griffin’s flashes of ability haven’t led to many points. He has two rushing touchdowns, but hasn’t yet thrown a touchdown pass and has two interceptions. His 64.9 passer rating is last on the team and well behind Kessler’s 92.3 rating.
Questions have been raised as to whether or not Peterson has played his last game for the Vikings. He’s going to be 32 next year, and his cap hit is $18 million, making him the highest-paid running back in the league.
The Vikings could cut him with no impact on their cap, which is another contributing factor into raising the question in regards to his future.