Having passed NFL-mandated tests, Robert Griffin III was allowed to return to full practice for the Washington Redskins and, barring an unforeseen setback, should start Sunday when they host the Minnesota Vikings.
“I’m not sure what we will list him as,” coach Mike Shanahan said. ” If he passes his tests and we don’t see any symptoms, then it looks like he’ll be ready to go.”
The Redskins ultimately ended up listing Griffin as questionable on the official injury report that they distributed. Shanahan said, based on what the doctors told him, it would either be probable or questionable.
There’s no huge difference there, but using questionable certainly will alleviate any pressure from the media about trying to rush Griffin back onto the field. (By NFL standards, questionable is literally a 50-50 proposition to play.)
Shanahan was asked Friday if the team considered ruling Griffin out. He responded by pointing out Griffin’s status, in terms of how his concussion recovery is handled by doctors, not the coaching staff.
“That’s what we have doctors for. Doctors make those decisions; we don’t. If Robert feels like he’s fine, he’s had no side-effects, he wants to play, he feels good to play,” Shanahan said. “If Robert were to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I have a headache,’ of course we would do that. That’s why we run all these tests. But why would you not let somebody play if he’s felt good right at the end of the game [and] every day until now?
“But if he has these tests after practice today and all of sudden he’s not feeling good or something’s wrong, obviously, we’re not going to take the chance.”
If he does play, it is likely you will see a different Griffin, one who now fully recognizes that it is more prudent to protect himself than to seek to make a big play on every play. At least, that’s what the Redskins hope.
