Robert Griffin III would be crazy to go to Cleveland
Dear Robert Griffin III,
A few weeks back, I wrote an open letter to NFL teams warning them not to sign you. It wasn't that you'd be a bad fit everywhere, just that, unfortunately, you weren't worth the headache. Now I'm turning my pen to you, dear RG3, with a request - nay, a plea. Some team will sign you and may get a steal in doing so. But, for the love of all things Pete Rozelle, do not make that team the Browns. There seems to be a mutual interest right now, so Robert, I implore you, please read on these myriad reasons, continue your search and abandon any thoughts on entering Cleveland, the place where quarterbacks go die.
1. Cleveland has started 24 quarterbacks since 1999.
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Ken Dorsey, Brady Quinn, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw, Josh McCown, Austin Davis. If you showed that list to a bulk of America, they'd assume it was a cast list of a soap opera and, yeah, that includes people who know who Johnny Manziel is.
There are only two reasons to be playing quarterback in Cleveland: 1) You are forced to by draft or trade; 2) you believe you don't have any options and being the backup in Cleveland could be a stepping stone to a better backup job down the line, which will then lead to a starting gig. Although, even though that last one sounds good, it really hasn't happened over those 18 years. Look at that list. Who's going on to better things after? In actuality, Cleveland isn't merely where many quarterbacks go to die, Cleveland is what's killing them.
2. Don't be blinded by the appearance of an open starting job.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Cleveland is widely expected to take a quarterback at No. 2 in the draft - either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. (They'll have their choice since Marcus Mariota's Tennessee team has the top pick.) This is still true even if the team signs you or Colin Kaepernick. I know what you're thinking. You can almost see the wheels of egomania spinning in your head. "Go to Cleveland, watch them draft Wentz, get in a QB battle this preseason, win that battle, hold onto the job for the season and either become the entrenched starter in Cleveland or become trade bait for a team that doesn't want its No. 2 pick warming the bench." That's all well and good but there's way too much assuming there: You'll win, you won't get injured and you aren't just an insurance policy for a season in which Wentz/Goff is intended to be the starter from Day One. After all, that is the new trend in the NFL. Just ask, well, yourself.
3. Hue Jackson is a fine, likable football coach. Don't go anywhere near him.
Hue, who was once a head coach for the Raiders, which has the same job security as being a guitarist in Guns 'N Roses, came to Cleveland after being offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, where he took over for a guy you know, Jay Gruden. Hue and Jay are not the same people. Their thoughts on football don't have to be identical because they held the same job in succession. But both were able to use Cincinnati as a stepping stone because they ran solid, traditional-style offenses with Andy Dalton, the prototypical pocket passer. It didn't work with Gruden. And though Jackson is saying very flowery things about you right now, his team is likely to draft another pocket passer (Wentz or Goff) and build its system around him. You failed twice in a traditional football offense. The third time won't be the charm.
4. You have more options (apparently)!
More than 10 and as many as 15 teams are interested in you, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. Some of those jobs might feature battles for the starting positions, others might be what you need: A solid backup role to get back in the rhythm of football, some likely spot-starts that will show the rest of the NFL you can thrive outside the pistol offense and then, down in the short term, a chance to get back to being a starting NFL quarterback.
That road should never, ever start in Cleveland.
Sincerely,
A concerned person who never wants to have to watch a Cleveland game to see how you're doing
