Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin believes he proved his doubters wrong during his injury-plagued 2016

Published Jan. 2, 2017 5:02 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

Robert Griffin III didn’t have a bounce-back season in his first year with the Cleveland Browns, playing in only five games in 2016. But if you ask the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year, he showed enough to silence his naysayers.

"I'm not an idiot,'' Griffin said Monday, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I know a lot of people were writing me off as a player, as a quarterback, saying I couldn't do it. And to go out and show that I can, I think that proves a lot of people wrong.”

That’s debatable to say the least. Many questioned Griffin’s durability heading into 2016 after injuries derailed his career with the Washington Redskins. He suffered a shoulder injury in the Browns' season opener that forced him to miss the next 11 games.

But RG3 feels just making it back to the field after sitting out all of 2015 makes his first season in Cleveland a success.

"To not play a lot of football in two years and finish the season the way we did, or the way I did personally, I feel good about it,'' he said. "But I'm not satisfied at all. So I'm going to go into this offseason hungrier than ever, ready to prove it all over again. Because that's what you have to do every single day. I don't think anybody's ever said I've been afraid of hard work, and that's never going to change.''

Griffin returned after the Browns’ bye week and helped them pick up their only win of the season against the Chargers in Week 15 but suffered a concussion in that game. Despite the head injury, he played in Cleveland’s finale, throwing for a season-high 232 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Griffin finished 2016 with his lowest completion rate (59.2 percent) in his career and threw more interceptions (three) than touchdown passes (two). The Browns were 1-4 in his five starts.

Get more from Robert Griffin III Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Robert Griffin III

Cleveland Browns

National Football League