Washington Redskins fans can breath a slight sigh of relief for quarterback Robert Griffin III because MRI results revealed that he has a sprained knee and not season-ending ACL injury.
Griffin took the MRI after Sunday’s 31-28 overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens, but Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie told ESPN Sunday that “everything is clear” in regards of significant ligament damage to Griffin’s right knee.
The Redskins rookie quarterback was injured in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, when Ravens defensive linemen Haloti Ngata hit him at the end of a 13-yard run. Griffin limped off the field, only to return a few plays later and come right back out to fall to the field. He was helped off the field by fellow teammates.
“I knew I needed to get out at that point,” Griffin told reporters after the game. “I couldn’t move. At some point you have to do what’s right for the team. And if I’m playing the rest of that game, I probably would have hurt myself even more.”
Griffin headed to the locker to take an X-Ray and doctors told him that his ligaments felt fine.
“I’m not a doctor, but I know what an ACL feels like,” Griffin said. “And it doesn’t feel like an ACL. … If I felt that, I’d be pretty nervous. But we won the game, everybody’s praying for me, I feel pretty good right now about the whole situation. I’m not too nervous, but I’ll definitely be praying during the MRI.”
Griffin proceeded to move the Redskins down the field after Ray Rice scored a 7-yard touchdown run, to put the Ravens up 28-20 with 4:47 remaining. He marched the Redskins down the field in an attempt to tie the game, but knew his leg was in too much pain once Ngata hit him.
“I knew as soon as I got hit. I screamed. Like a man, of course,” Griffin said with a smirk. “It hurt really bad.”
Redskins backup quarterback Kirk Cousins replaced Griffin and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon with 29 seconds remaining in the game. He then ran in for the two-point conversion, which led to the winning field goal kick by Kai Forbath in overtime.
Griffin was 15 for 26 for 246 and a touchdown pass before leaving the game. He also carried the ball seven times for 34 yards.
Wyllie said that Redskins coach Mike Shanahan will update Griffin’s condition on Monday, but his status for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns still remains uncertain.
