December 14, 2017

Should the Eagles take a chance on Robert Griffin III?

By Matt Mullin
PhillyVoice Staff

The Eagles are currently one play away from Nate Sudfeld being their starting quarterback. And while the 24-year-old out of Indiana is far better than you or I at throwing a football, a former sixth-round pick with no NFL experience is not the guy you want under center for your favorite team in December and January.

He's no Tom Brady – and even when Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001, he had the benefit of doing so in Week 2, not Week 15. By the time the playoffs came around, he already had nearly an entire season of NFL experience under his belt. Sudfeld, on the other hand, has never taken a snap.

Sill, Doug Pederson said on Monday that the Eagles "feel really comfortable with him."

Ironically, that came in the same press conference in which he said the following about the importance of Nick Foles' prior experience as a starter: "If you don't have a backup quarterback that's played and had snaps in this league, it's tough. It's tough to continue the things that you've done and the things you've built this season."

That is exactly the position in which the Birds now find themselves: having a backup quarterback that's never taken a snap.

Despite that – not to mention the recent struggles of the left side of their offensive line – the Eagles for some reason suddenly seem content being one missed Halapoulivaati Vaitai block away from Sudfeld inheriting a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Why? It's not like they lack other options. [See: Kaepernick, Colin]

There's also former Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who earlier in the week said he turned down multiple offers prior to the season, instead opting to work out on his own and wait for the right opportunity. That opportunity apparently came knocking when Carson Wentz was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL.

Griffin, who started five games for the Browns last season after being drafted second overall by Washington in 2012 (35 starts over three seasons), has thrown 42 touchdowns (and run for 10 more) and 26 interceptions in his career and has a career passer rating of 88.4.

On Wednesday, RGIII pleaded his case to Stephen A. Smith (and the Eagles) while on ESPN's First Take, saying the biggest reason he makes sense for the Eagles is because he's capable of doing "Carson Wentz type of things" on the football field.

“You know, I sat here and I watched you banging the hammer for Colin Kaepernick to go there yesterday, right?” Griffin told Smith, via The Washington Post. “I think you should be banging the hammer for me to go there. If you want to talk about a guy that can do similar things that Carson can do, why not? Why not? Why not?”
“Are you trying to say that you might be a better option than Colin Kaepernick?” Smith replied. “I’m talking about on the field.”
“On the football field, every quarterback believes he’s the best option,” said Griffin, who has been out of a job since being released by the Cleveland Browns in March. “That’s just the way it goes. Getting back to Nick Foles, I think Nick believes that he is the best option right now. I believe the team believes that he is the best option right now. They have the utmost confidence in him. [Eagles Coach Doug] Pederson was there when they drafted him, when Andy Reid was there, and he was with him in Kansas City, so they’ve got that vibe together. So I think they’ll be okay. They’re not going to be the dominant football team that they were when they had Carson Wentz, everybody knows that, but they do need to bring in somebody who can do some Carson Wentz type of things.” [washingtonpost.com]

And if this is the part where you start worrying that Griffin would be a distraction in the locker room, or there would be a worry that Foles would be looking over his shoulder instead of across the line at the opposing defense, don't.

Griffin said he's not suggesting that he should start for the Eagles. Instead, he thinks he could serve a role as the temporary backup – you know, just in case Foles gets wrecked by a blindside hit. And by bringing him in now, rather than waiting for something to happen, Griffin would have time to get familiarized with the offense and his teammates.

“I don’t think I’m in a position to come in right away and start for a playoff team next week, just because you need to get in, get used to the guys, get used to the offense, but as far as coming in and providing some stability at the backup position, so that if the starter does go down, I think I could definitely do that,” Griffin said. “I’m prepared, I’ve been throwing, I’ve been working out and kept my mind sharp watching the game and studying film. So, from that standpoint, I think I can help.” [washingtonpost.com]

There's no way he could hurt, right?