The Cleveland Browns could be getting reinforcements ahead of their matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Robert Griffin III was the opening day starter at quarterback for Cleveland this season, but a shoulder injury led to him being placed on I.R. after just one fame. He has since returned to the team via the I.R. return designation, and there is a chance he starts in Week 14 when Cleveland hosts Cincinnati.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that RG3 could start Sunday if he does well enough in practice this week.
Depending on how practice goes this week, there's a real chance Browns QB Robert Griffin III starts Sunday against Cincinnati.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 5, 2016
The Browns will be coming out of their Week 13 bye week with the NFL’s worst record at 0-12. However, the extra week off has given RG3 the chance to return to the Browns’ starting lineup come Week 14 after he returned to practice on Nov. 23.
The Browns signed the former Washington quarterback after he visited Cleveland this offseason in free agency. Now 26 years old, Griffin was released this offseason before his 2016 option worth $16.1 million would have become guaranteed. He joined the Browns in hopes of reviving his career with former Bengals coach Hue Jackson, who has been a quarterback whisperer throughout his career.
But while Griffin's talent level is very high, he hasn't been anywhere close to as good of a leader as he needs to be, nor can he read defenses as effectively as an NFL quarterback should be able to.
And it doesn’t help that Griffin has missed significant time due to injury throughout his career, as evidenced by him missing all but one game of this season with a shoulder injury.
It wasn’t that long ago that the second-overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft entered the league fresh off a Heisman Trophy-winning season, and then proceeded to take the NFL by storm. He led Washington to an NFC East title and was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year after setting an NFL record for rookies with a 102.4 passer rating that season.
But since then, RG3 has been benched by two head coaches, the latter of which being Jay Gruden as he turned to Kirk Cousins in Washington instead. That helped lead to RG3's ouster, and now he's just trying to revive his once promising career.
It looks like that road may begin this Sunday against the Bengals.