Ravens backup QB Robert Griffin III still desires to be a starter again
There isn’t an athlete at the high school, collegiate, and especially professional level that once played at a high level and considers themselves a true competitor is okay with being relegated to the bench as a backup. They will long for the day that they can be the leading man or lady once again and Baltimore Ravens’ backup quarterback Robert Griffin III is no exception.
“I do want to be a starter again,” Griffin said recently on 1660 ESPN, via NBC Sports Washington. “I’m 30 years old. Quarterbacks are playing into their 40s now. There’s a lot of time left to still go achieve all the dreams and goals I set for myself.”
Griffin was on a meteoric rise to stardom in 2012 during his rookie season before tragic stuck in the form of a horrific injury and derailed his once-promising career. He was drafted second overall by the Ravens’ beltway brother Washington Redskins earlier that spring out of Baylor where he won the Heisman Trophy in his last year with the Bears.
He was a two-sport athlete growing up that starred in both track and football. He possessed electric playmaking ability, a rocket arm, and Olympic level speed that he used to light up the league in his inaugural season. He led the Redskins to a 10-6 record, an NFC East title and edged out first overall pick Andrew Luck for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors with 3,200 yards passing, 20 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions and a career-high 815 yards and seven scores rushing.
His future looked as bright as a supernova before he suffered a torn ACL, LCL, and meniscus in the opening round of the playoffs in a wildcard bout with the Seattle Seahawks. From there, his health and his career went down a downward spiral. He hasn’t started more than seven games in a season since his rookie year due to sustaining a multitude of injuries that included a concussion, a dislocated ankle, and fractured shoulder. It’s an almost cruel irony that the hit that was the catalyst for his first major injury was a hit that he sustained in a game against the Ravens during his rookie year from former Ravens’ defensive tackle Haloti Ngata while diving for extra yardage.
Griffin was released by the Redskins following the 2015 season and spent a short forgettable stint with the Cleveland Browns in 2016 before being out of the league for the entirety of the 2017 season. He joined the Ravens on a one-year deal in 2018 and has spent the last two seasons serving as a backup, mentor, and in some ways a cautionary tale for reigning MVP Lamar Jackson.
“It’s been an amazing experience being in Baltimore,” Griffin said. “A top-notch, first-class organization. They take care of their players. They understand the importance of taking care of the quarterbacks and surround the quarterback with guys and people that will help them grow. I’m a part of that. I’m a part of that for Lamar (Jackson), helping him grow, helping him see the game, helping him continue to get better every single day.”
He has been an invaluable resource for both Jackson and the team and signed a two-year extension last offseason that keeps him under contract through this upcoming season. He’s been like a big brother to the young Jackson and while he is not as dynamic as he once was or is nearly as electrifying as his mentee, they do share similar dual-threat skillsets, making him an ideal backup for the offense that the Ravens run that is centered on having a player at the quarterback position with above-average mobility inside and outside of the pocket and can make plays on his own with his legs.
Griffin expressed his desire to wanting to compete to be a starter once more but didn’t rule out the possibility of remaining with the Ravens in the role that he is for the right price. While that may come off as him being content in his current role if he’s paid more to some, he knows that any backup at any opposition is a play away from seeing the field if the starter were to go down or miss time for any reason so, in the event that he does get elevated into a starting role for the Ravens, he would likely want to be compensated accordingly.
“Right now, with where I’m at in Baltimore, just trying to maximize that opportunity,” Griffin said. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll be in Baltimore for the foreseeable future playing the role I am now but getting compensated more for it, or I’ll be able to go out and compete to be a starter again somewhere in the league.”
Jackson has yet to miss a game or start with an injury, yet Griffin did get a chance to start a game last season. It came in the regular-season finale against the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens had already won the AFC North crown and secured both the No.1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs so several starters, including Jackson, received an extra week of rest before the first-round bye.
While his final stat line on the rain-drenched day read 11-of-21 for 96 yards passing with no touchdowns and one interception and he ran just eight times for 50 yards, he wasn’t asked to throw the ball all over the yard or try to prove that he could still make the same awe-inspiring plays that he did as a rookie. The mission was to win the game and secure the franchise’s best regular-season record in its 24-year history and facilitate the offense to get the necessary yardage on the ground to break the single-season rushing record. The Ravens prevailed 28-10 over the Steelers, he operated the offense and moved the ball up and down the field well despite the harsh conditions and achieved the ultimate goal.
There has been a sharp uptick of teams hitting on young players that they have drafted and developed at the position in recent years so there are fewer and fewer starting jobs available in the annual quarterback carousel every year. This offseason the free-agent quarterback market was so oversaturated with quality veteran options with plenty of starting experience that two former No.1 overall picks hit the open market. While one signed a one-year deal for barely over the veteran minimum to be a backup (Jameis Winston to the Saints), the other still remains unsigned in early June (Cam Newton).
The Ravens received numerous calls about Griffin’s availability last preseason after he played well in the exhibition games but with a COVID-19 condensed offseason that may end up shortening the preseason, there might not be much or any market of potential suitors looking to make a trade this time around. Anything can happen and injuries certainly do every year so while it may seem like a long shot now, RG3 could still find himself in the driver’s seat of an offense once again someday.
