The Ravens announced Wednesday they have agreed to a one-year contract with former Washington Redskins star Robert Griffin III to compete for the backup quarterback role behind starter Joe Flacco. Griffin, 28, did not play in the NFL last season.
Griffin made sense for the Ravens when you look at other quarterbacks available. They do not have a lot of salary cap space, especially for a backup quarterback, and they are signing him to a one-year deal. Veterans such as Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Derek Anderson and Andrew Cassel would likely cost too much.
Colin Kaepernick is available, but his performance had been declining with the San Francisco 49ers, he sat out last season and he brings baggage because of the kneeling controversy. Last year, former Ravens great Ray Lewis said the team was interested in bringing Kaepernick in to talk when Flacco was sidelined by a back injury during training camp in 2017, but the quarterback's girlfriend posted a tweet he considered a "racist gesture."
In addition, Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL and Ravens coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome will be deposed Thursday by Kaepernick's lawyers.
So the Ravens settled on Griffin. Here's more about him:
Height, weight: 6 feet 2, 220 pounds
Born: Feb. 12, 1990 (age 28)
Baltimore Ravens Insider
College: Baylor (Won Heisman Trophy in 2011)
Nickname: RGIII
Family: Two daughters, Reese Ann Griffin, 2, and Gloria Griffin, 8 months. Married Estonian heptathlete Grete Sadeiko on March 10.
Drafted: He was the second overall pick in 2012 by the Redskins after quarterback Andrew Luck of Stanford, taken by the Indianapolis Colts. The Redskins selected another quarterback in the 2012 draft, Kirk Cousins of Michigan State, in the fourth round. Cousins became the Redskins' full-time starter in 2015 and recently signed a three-year, $84 million fully guaranteed contract with the Minnesota Vikings, becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history.
Career: Started the 15 games he played in for the Redskins his rookie season, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and leading the Redskins to the playoffs. He completed 258 of 393 passes for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. The Ravens' Haloti Ngata knocked Griffin out of their Week 14 game with a devastating hit on his knee. Griffin returned in Week 16 and for the playoffs, but reinjured the knee in the playoffs requiring offseason ACL and LCL surgery.
He started the first 13 games of the 2013 season, but won just three of those games. He was again injured in 2014 and started just seven games, winning two. During the 2015 preseason, Griffin was injured and did not appear in any regular-season games, becoming the third quarterback on the depth chart. He was released by the team in March 2016.
The Cleveland Browns signed Griffin less than three weeks after he was released to a two-year, $15 million contract. He suffered a shoulder injury in the 2016 season opener and did not return until the last quarter of the season. In the five games he started, Griffin completed 87 of 147 passes for 886 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Browns released him in March 2017 and he did not play at all last season.
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