Robert Griffin III pitches himself as quarterback option for 1 team

Oct 17, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Steve Young (left), Robert Griffin III (center) and Larry Fitzgerald on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Robert Griffin III has not appeared in an NFL game in three years, but he is not giving up on finding a route back into the league.

Griffin devoted part of his “RG3 and The Ones” podcast to pitching his services to the Cleveland Browns, suggesting he could come out of retirement and help steady the team in the wake of Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury.

Time to run it back. pic.twitter.com/EdNN1PURXI

— RG3 and The Ones (@rg3andtheones) November 16, 2023

“The Browns should sign me as their starting quarterback,” Griffin said. “At 33 years old, I understand the game better than I ever have in my entire career. I know how to slide and I know when to slide, and that was a huge issue in my eight years in the NFL, but I’ve learned from my mistakes and am ready to showcase that I can get it done.

“I can go out there and manage a game for the Cleveland Browns and help them go on the Super Bowl run that they want to go on. I still run a 4.3 40, people. And I can throw the football 80 yards. I train every week like an NFL football player so I can be ready for moments just like this.”

Griffin even pushed himself as a backup option for rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, suggesting that he could help Thompson-Robinson the same way he helped Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.

Even though Griffin has been out of the league since 2020 and is a full-time ESPN analyst now, he has never totally given up on a comeback. No team has taken him up on his offer, and while he’s welcome to shoot his shot, the Browns probably will not either. NFL teams are looking for more than a 4.3 40 time and the knowledge of when to slide in their quarterbacks, even the stopgap ones.

The Browns have signaled their intention to go with Thompson-Robinson as their quarterback for the rest of the season, and there is no reason to believe they are about to change their mind on that.