Robert Griffin III's Cleveland comeback is effectively over before it started. He injured his shoulder in last week's season-opening loss to the Eagles and the expectation, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, is that he won't be healthy for 10-12 weeks.
Put another way: The Browns are set to roll with 37-year-old Josh McCown, and in the interim, they hope rookie third-rounder Cody Kessler continues to progress. Which means that, even if Griffin is ready to go in three months' time, the Browns have little incentive to put him back in the lineup.
Last week, first-year coach Hue Jackson, who reportedly had become too focused on making RG3 great again, said that the organization isn't second-guessing itself for passing on Carson Wentz, the 2016 second-overall pick who torched the Browns in Week 1.
"We didn't draft Carson Wentz because we didn't think it was the right fit for our team at this time," Jackson said during an appearance on PFT Live in the days leading up to the opener. "There's nothing more to it. Obviously, that will make for great debate in the media, and that's fine. Our singular focus right now is just preparing to face the Eagles."
Those preparations didn't go so well, and now the Browns are preparing for the rest of the season without Griffin. And perhaps that's not a bad thing.
"Everybody's excited about Josh," Browns cornerback Joe Haden said of McCown now the team's No. 1 quarterback, via Cleveland.com. "They know what he can do for this team. I just felt bad for RGIII, all the work that he put in, and how much it really means to him. But as far as Josh coming in, I'm just super excited that he's still on this team. We feel very confident in Josh."
And quarterback-turned-wideout Terrelle Pryor added: "He's going to be awesome Sunday. I can't wait. I can't wait to go play for him and I can't wait to catch balls from him."
