The Browns opened the season with Robert Griffin III starting at quarterback, although the plan to have him run Hue Jackson’s offense proved short lived when Griffin suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder during the season-opening loss in Philadelphia.
Griffin was placed on injured reserve and there were varying reports at the time about whether or not he’d be a candidate to be the Browns player designated to return before the year was out. The question of whether he’d need surgery or not appeared to be the determining factor about the answer.
Jeff Darlington of ESPN reports that a four-week checkup on Griffin’s shoulder showed that the bone is healing. As a result, doctors don’t currently believe that Griffin will need to have surgery that would almost certainly close the door on any hopes of a return to action this year.
That doesn’t mean there will be a return to action, of course. The earliest Griffin could return is Week 10 and Darlington reports that it hasn’t been determined if that’s realistic. Rookie Cody Kessler is also currently installed as the starter and has looked good enough that the team might opt to continue looking to the future regardless of Griffin’s status.