Robert Griffin III, the Washington Redskins’ rookie quarterback who is authoring a special season, practiced Wednesday, three days after suffering a right knee injury on Sunday that the team feared would sideline him for the season.
Turned out that the injury was a mild sprain. Still, there were doubts that he would be healthy enough to play on Sunday.
But there was Griffin at practice Wednesday, giving hope that he could start the crucial game for Washington at Cleveland.
He said, “Today, I feel really good,” according to The Washington Post.
He was cautious in his appraisal of his healthy and the prospects of playing, however. He said he did not know if he would take the field, but the fact that he did workout with the first team was an indication of how much better he is feeling.
For some reason, Griffin would not indicate how much the practice he went through; all but the last minutes of practice is closed to the media.
“I did enough,” he said. He added that he will do more in practice on Thursday and Friday.
Coach Mike Shanahan said Griffin’s work was limited, but that he was impressed by how the quarterback looked. Griffin wore a brace.
Griffin suffered a mild sprain of the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee late in Sunday’s overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens at FedEx Field.
Griffin will be evaluated on a daily basis and if he can go at full speed come the weekend, Shanahan said he will play.
Considered in the decision of Griffin playing will be whether he would be putting his knee at risk of further injury. Also, it is almost assured his participation will not be confirmed until the last possible moment, to keep the Browns from knowing how to prepare during the week.
Rookie backup Kirk Cousins, who took over Sunday and threw a touchdown pass and ran for a tying two-point conversion in the final minute of regulation, would make his first NFL start if Griffin could not go.
“You have to go the distance when you start the game,” Cousins said. “That’s a lot of time to screw up, if you will, a lot of time to be exposed.”
Cousins said he has been lauded with praise for his heroic effort off the bench in Sunday’s 31-28 victory. Cousins said he received about 140 text messages after the game but had time to return only a few of them.
“You go two for two, everybody loves you,” Cousins said. “You go oh for two, everybody hates you.”
Cousins said as a fourth-round draft pick playing behind Griffin might not afford him many opportunities. “If I’m good enough, I’ll be able to show people over time what I can do,” Cousins said. “If I’m not, I won’t.”
