Robert Griffin III Comments on Browns' QB Competition, Advice for Rookie QBs

The Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job is still up in the air, but after the team dealt the No. 2 overall pick in this year's NFL draft to the Philadelphia Eagles, it doesn't look as though it will add a marquee rookie arm to the competition between Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw and the newly signed Robert Griffin III.

The 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year understands there will be no handouts from a Cleveland franchise that's had 24 different starters since 1999, according to Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith.

“It doesn’t bother me at all because everything you obtain in this world is earned. It’s not given,” Griffin told Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. “So throughout my career, I’ve earned everything that I’ve gotten, and when things didn’t work out, it was my fault.”

Even though he battled injuries and a yearlong benching with the Washington Redskins, Griffin looks like the most compelling option:

Quarterback	Years Active	Career Record	Completion %	Yards	Touchdowns	INT
Robert Griffin III	4	14-21	63.9	8,097	40	23
Josh McCown	13	18-39	59.5	13,142	73	63
Austin Davis	4	3-7	62.4	2,548	13	12
Connor Shaw	2	0-1	50.0	177	0	1

In terms of prior success, though, the pickings are slim, which is why many believed the Browns would have selected either Jared Goff from California or Carson Wentz from North Dakota State with the No. 2 pick in the draft. 

Both Goff and Wentz will experience the pressure of trying to turn a struggling franchise around.

Griffin found early success with Washington, leading it to the playoffs in his rookie season, but he never made it back.

Drawing from his past experiences, he has offered some advice to the youngsters, per Ulrich. 

“What I said with the mic drop [during my introductory news conference here]: ‘No pressure, no diamonds,’” he said. “It’s no biggie. Just go play ball, have fun and you can’t control what they gave up to get you. All you can control is what you do when you get there.”

If he does win the starting job, Griffin will have to back up those words and try to turn things around for a Browns franchise that hasn't made it to the playoffs since 2002 or had a winning season since 2007.

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.