As Robert Griffin III and the Browns put the wraps on his contract with the team, Hue Jackson and Pep Hamilton were featured prominently on NFL Network as they watched North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz go through his pro day. Just a few days earlier, they were on the scene and just as involved in Cal quarterback Jared Goff's exhibition for pro scouts.
Whether or not the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 2 pick or later in April's draft remains to be seen. What's been made clear this week, though, is Griffin's signing won't affect the team's approach and the team's decision won't affect Griffin's.
Since he took over his position as Browns EVP of football operations, Sashi Brown has maintained the Browns will build their roster through the draft and supplement it via free agency. In his statement Thursday, Brown reiterated that point, saying "the draft is and will be our primary focus."
And at the NFL's owners meetings earlier this week, Jackson said he discussed the possibility of the Browns drafting a quarterback with Griffin when they met last week.
Needless to say, Jackson liked Griffin's response.
"It's all about competing," Jackson said. "To me, he would have to go and compete. I don't ever worry about that. The cream always rises to the top. If the guy is afraid of competition, you've got the wrong guy anyways. I think we'll be fine. Regardless of how it goes. It's just part of it."
Through the years with new Browns QB Robert Griffin III.
Griffin, in interviews Thursday with reporters and on Cleveland Browns Daily, made it abundantly clear he knew the circumstances he'll face April 4 when he joins the team for offseason workouts and at OTAs, when the team is injected full of young players from the draft.
What Griffin experienced over the past year, not taking a snap as a backup to Kirk Cousins in Washington, has only made him hungrier to compete -- no matter who it's with.
"After not playing football for a year, I'm really appreciative of the Browns stepping up and giving me an opportunity to go out and grow with their team, compete on a daily basis and lead the team," Griffin said. "I'm really excited about that. If they draft a quarterback, take the guy under my wing. I'm considered a vet now after four years in the league and I've been through a lot more than a lot of guys go through in their entire career. I've got a lot of experience. I can help a young guy, but it's not my focus.
"I don't pick the players. Sashi and Hue and all those guys will take care of that stuff, but if they draft a quarterback, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just ready to compete."
On top of the second overall pick in April's NFL Draft, Cleveland holds the first pick of the second round (No. 32) and eight others throughout the three-day event. Jackson has vowed to get a close, in-depth look at many of the top quarterback prospects, and it's a process that will continue even after the signing of Griffin, one of four quarterbacks on Cleveland's roster, joining Josh McCown, Austin Davis and Connor Shaw.
Asked how much it mattered to him that he starts for the Browns in 2016, Griffin shifted the focus off himself and toward the team.
"It's not about me or my career," he said. "It's about this team and growing with this team, and that's what I set out to do."
