Who was once deemed the best prodigy in the NFL ended up being one of the hottest “what-if” stories. But now, Robert Griffin III has teased a return to the football world once again, per the Dan Patrick Show, and this time, he has some mysterious “teams” backing him up.
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“Any of them,” Griffin said on the Dan Patrick Show when asked about the teams in which he could fit right now. “Yeah. I mean, right now, at this point in my life, with the amount of film I’ve had to watch, with the amount of growth I’ve made, you know, understanding the game, what the game needs, what you can’t do, what you have to do. Yeah, I can play in any system.”
Griffin told Dan that the idea of his comeback is “percolating” within a few NFL teams as well, with him saying that he has spoken to some teams. Griffin also mentioned that the opportunity would have to be right, as he is having a “good time” working as a FOX Sports analyst for now.
“I’m not going to sacrifice that just to try to make headlines. I can still throw a football and read a defense and have fun doing it, Dan. If they want me to go do it, they’ve got to, you know, I guess, pony up and make that happen,” Griffin concluded.
The former quarterback hasn’t taken a snap in the league since 2020. However, this isn’t the first time Griffin has discussed his return plans. He spoke about them as early as July 2022, when he said that he was “ready to go now,” adding that he trained every day. He left the doors open for the teams then, saying that if he gets a “call this year, next year, or five years from now, I will be ready to play.”
Just recently in Week 2, after seeing the 34-3 loss of the Atlanta Falcons to the Carolina Panthers in September, Griffin reiterated his wish to play in the NFL once again while commenting on Cooper Rush and Jack Strand.
“When Cooper Rush and Jack Strand are stinking it up in Atlanta, it makes zero sense that QBs like Cam Newton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Tannehill, and myself aren’t the veteran presence in the room to stabilize teams when their QB goes down. These guys were playing for Carolina today,” Griffin said.
Later last month, he also posted on X, writing that his girls “want to see Daddy play football again, so tell your favorite team to call.” The UFL posted an “eye peeking” emoji as a response to the post.
Griffin was a Heisman Trophy winner in 2011, when he was drafted as the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, and had a great rookie season, earning him the 2012 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honor.
But things spiraled down when he suffered his first injury, tearing his ACL in his right knee, an injury Griffin said could have been prevented if his coach had benched him despite his desire to play, despite having a knee sprain prior to the Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
That injury changed his whole trajectory of his once “promising” NFL career, as he got plagued with injuries, dislocating his left ankle in 2014, suffering a concussion in 2015, and fracturing his coracoid bone in his left shoulder in 2016.
After the Cleveland Browns released him, he was jobless for the 2017 season and played as a backup QB behind Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson from 2018 to 2020 before being waived by the Ravens as well. He played only 56 games over the course of his 7-year career in the league.
Now, being a 36-year-old, Griffin might be looking to return to the NFL and was also in contact with teams to make it happen. His other future plan is to represent Team USA in flag football in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Only time will tell how things turn out for Griffin, but his conversations over the years show he’s always ready to hit the gridiron and play some football.