Everything Gridiron

[Apollo]

RGIII Joins The Browns

The Browns announced Thursday that Griffin signed a contract with the team. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said it's a two-year deal.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to join the Dawg Pound and help build something here in Cleveland,” Griffin told the Browns' website. “Coach Hue [Jackson] and Pep [Hamilton, Cleveland's offensive coordinator], I had a great meeting with them. I really believe in what they preach and how they can help not only me as a player but this team win games and that's what we're all about.

“I'm just excited to come in and compete. Nothing's ever been given to me in my life, so I just want to go out and compete with the guys and grow with this team. I feel like that's all I'm really focused on.”

It’s an interesting pairing to say the least. Griffin was a superstar in 2012, winning offensive rookie of the year for the Washington Redskins. Then he was left in a playoff game too long, tore his ACL, rushed back for the 2013 opener and hasn’t been the same quarterback since. He didn’t play a snap all last season after he was benched for Kirk Cousins.

Browns coach Hue Jackson met with Griffin last Friday and Saturday and was obviously pleased with Griffin’s explanation for why his Redskins career didn’t ultimately work out.

"I heard the truth," Jackson told the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot on Tuesday. "I mean, he takes responsibility. He knows there's things he could have done better. And that's where he is. To me that showed the humbleness. Because that's what it's all about. In this league you don't grow if you don't admit that you've made some mistakes."

Jackson already told Griffin, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer, that the Browns might still draft a quarterback with a high pick even if they signed him.

"If it did [happen], he would have to compete and I don't ever worry about that," Jackson said, according to the Plain Dealer. "The cream always rises to the top, and if a guy is afraid of competition, then you have the wrong guy anyway."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...163637873.html

[Apollo]

In a recent meeting that included a number of team executives, Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson explained with wide eyes to those in attendance, including owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife, what he saw during a private workout from Robert Griffin III last week.

Jackson explained how, at one point when Griffin rolled out in a full sprint to throw a pass, "it felt like the Earth moved beneath my feet," according to team sources. He told them how Griffin's accuracy in passing drills was "freakish." It was surreal and special. It was everything you remember from 2012 -- and everything you have forgotten since.

And while the Browns owner by no means calls the shots on roster decisions in Cleveland (executive vice president Sashi Brown has that power), it is widely understood within the organization that Jackson understands quarterbacks as well as anyone. So Haslam looked toward the execs and spoke three definitive words:

"Go get him," Haslam told the group, setting off a series of negotiations that would lead to Griffin signing a two-year, $15 million with the Browns on Thursday.

Meanwhile, while Jackson was left in awe, Griffin was in the middle of his own soul-searching experience. The former No. 2 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner suddenly had found himself being used as a leverage chip around the NFL, knowingly visiting the New York Jets earlier this month as a way to help them negotiate with the quarterback they truly want, Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Griffin was OK with this. He understood this process -- that any free-agent visit would be helpful to his situation. He also believes he knows, after a humbling year that included repetitions as a scout-team safety, the importance of appreciating the difficult nature of the NFL, according to sources close to him.

But then, he visited Cleveland.

He visited, not knowing what would become of it, still being told by multiple advisors that San Francisco would be the best fit should Colin Kaepernick get traded. Something happened on that visit that changed the whole thing.

Jackson and Griffin saw the potential.

For Griffin, he saw a tough-loving coach who asked no easy questions. Jackson saw an honest and humbled human; a football player who made it clear that his days of heavy social-media interaction were behind him; a man who couldn't stop saying those ever-important words: "It is all about football for me."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...rivate-workout

[Apollo]

Von Miller wants $22M/yr.

[Apollo]

Alright, the Packers upgrade their TE slot. They haven't had a play maker there since Finley left.

[Apollo]

Will Smith murdered in New Orleans. Gun violence is absolutely out of control in the states...:

NEW ORLEANS -- Former Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot to death in New Orleans' Lower Garden District on Saturday night following a minor car crash, the coroner's office confirmed.

Smith, 34, was shot after exchanging words with the driver of a Hummer H2 that rear-ended his Mercedes G63 SUV, causing him to strike another vehicle containing acquaintances of Smith's, police said.

Smith was shot multiple times, and his wife, Racquel, 33, was shot once in the right leg, according to police. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, while his wife was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison.

"On behalf of the Smith family, we are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers," the family said. "We ask that you continue to respect the family's privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father and friend."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15...ffic-collision

[Apollo]

So the Rams pull the trigger to move up to #1 in the draft while coughing up a King's random... Oh and they don't know who they're taking. Yeah, you're not misreading this.

[rocwell]

Redskins sign Norman..(5-YR, $75M) dude got $50M guaranteed!

He'll face Odell twice a year.

[MACK11]

Redskins sign Norman..(5-YR, $75M) dude got $50M guaranteed!

He'll face Odell twice a year.

I dont know who that guy is but my brother whos a big NFL fan is so confused how he was even a free agent? Wasnt he with Carolina? What happened??

[MACK11]

So the Rams pull the trigger to move up to #1 in the draft while coughing up a King's random... Oh and they don't know who they're taking. Yeah, you're not misreading this.

Sounds like something Billy King would do in the NBA lol

[rocwell]

I dont know who that guy is but my brother whos a big NFL fan is so confused how he was even a free agent? Wasnt he with Carolina? What happened??

Panthers rescinded the franchise tag on Norman and with that move he immediately became a free agent.

[Mack North]

Redskins sign Norman..(5-YR, $75M) dude got $50M guaranteed!

He'll face Odell twice a year.

And Dez... He faced us last year with a scrub QB, things will be different this year with Romo back at the helm. I look forward to hating the Deadskins and Josh Norman even more!

[rocwell]

And Dez... He faced us last year with a scrub QB, things will be different this year with Romo back at the helm. I look forward to hating the Deadskins and Josh Norman even more!

DEAD UNTIL PROVEN ALIVE

[Mack North]

DEAD UNTIL PROVEN ALIVE

Why you gotta be like that, roc? That's OK, I'll remember this one!

[Axel]

Why you gotta be like that, roc? That's OK, I'll remember this one!

To be fair, no one forced you to be a Cowboys fan.

[rocwell]

U.S. Appeals court has reinstated Brady's 4-game suspension.