Former first-round pick Robert Griffin III has found a new home in Baltimore, signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the team announced on Wednesday.
Griffin, who won the Heisman Trophy at Baylor in 2011 before becoming the apple of the Redskins' eye in the 2012 NFL Draft, has been out of football since 2016 when he signed with the Browns and struggled as part of a one-win team.
His last NFL game was on January 1, 2017 against the Steelers, a loss by the Browns in which Griffin threw for less than 250 passing yards. To say his time with the Browns was a nightmare would be an understatement. That does not put him in exclusive company, however.
Griffin was originally drafted by Washington No. 2 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft as part of a massive move up the draft board by the Redskins, in which they traded multiple future first-round picks in order to acquire the No. 2 pick from the Los Angeles Rams.
RGIII would explode onto the scene as a rookie, winning the NFL's Rookie of the Year (beating out Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson in what looked like one of the all-time QB classes at the time) and setting the stage for him becoming an icon in Washington.
The ride ended abruptly, however, with Griffin suffering an ACL injury in a home playoff loss to the Seahawks (and Wilson).
He would struggle to get healthy and develop as a pocket passer, and eventually be supplanted in the starting lineup by Kirk Cousins, who was taken by the Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Neither quarterback is in Washington now, obviously, with Cousins having signed an $84 million, fully-guaranteed, three-year contract with the Vikings this offseason after playing through two franchise tags.
That Griffin and Cousins would sign contracts in the same offseason is pretty wild, especially given the disparity between the two deals.
This is good news for Griffin, though, because he gets an opportunity for a fresh start with a quality organization that won't force him on the field out of the gates.
"I want to begin -- late yesterday we agreed to a one-year deal with Robert Griffin. He came in last week, had a real good workout and we were able to come to an agreement late yesterday," GM Ozzie Newsome announced on Tuesday. "He will probably be here early next week to sign the deal."
The Ravens have an established quarterback in Joe Flacco, although no one actually believes he's elite anymore.
They are definitely going to be in the quarterback market this offseason when it comes to the draft, although it's very possible they could be one of a few teams who are shut out thanks to the lack of supply and heavy demand, particularly at the top of the draft.
Griffin, who the Ravens were interested in signing last year, at least gives them someone with some upside, a quarterback with a track record of success who is still young-ish (Griffin turned 28 in February).
The Ravens could hope that Griffin thrives in the backup role, develops into a pocket passer in Baltimore and gives them someone who could potentially step up if Flacco gets injured. There's also minimal risk here, with Griffin being signed on a one-year deal. If it doesn't work out, or if Baltimore decides to use a high pick on a quarterback, the Ravens can walk away pretty easily.
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