The big news is that, 10 days after he sprained his knee in the Redskins' overtime win against the Ravens, Robert Griffin III practiced in full Wednesday. He still hasn't received the go-ahead to return to the field this week against the Eagles, though if he's unable to go rookie backup Kirk Cousins has proved more than capable in spot duty, including last Sunday's win over the Browns.
“I always expect to play,” Griffin said (via the Washington Post, still miffed that he was inactive versus Cleveland). “They’re going to keep playing it by sight, come out, watch me and then figure out what they think the best progression is from here. . . . I’m ready to play whenever they want me to play. So, if it’s this week, next week, couple weeks — whatever they say goes. I’ll be ready."
Coach Mike Shanahan would only say that Griffin hasn't yet been cleared to play and he didn't know when such a decision would be made.
“What doctors will do, is they’ll evaluate him (Thursday)," the coach said. "Hopefully there’s no setback, no swelling through the knee. He’ll be evaluated through the week, and when doctors tell me the [ligament] is ready to go, then I’ll announce he’s ready to go.”
Given how unhappy RGIII was about missing the Browns game, we won't be surprised to see him this Sunday. Of course, that decision isn't his to make, but whoever's under center, the 'Skins' goals the next two weeks remain unchanged: they need to win out to guarantee themselves a division title and a playoff spot.
And while Griffin has little patience with the healing process, if team doctors and Shanahan feel it's in RGIII's best interest to take one more week off, there's comfort in knowing that Cousins can handle the job. So much comfort, in fact, that we've already written about what Cousins could bring in a trade to a quarterback-hungry team, something the Post's Mark Maske revisited recently, writing that the 'Skins might be able to get a second- or third-round pick.
But Shanahan, who was one of the few people on the planet who thought drafting two quarterbacks in a four-round stretch made sense, seemed surprised by the idea of sending Cousins anywhere.
“Trade him?” Shanahan told the Post's Jason Reid. “It doesn’t happen very often where you’ve got a chance to have a very special player that you [draft in the fourth round]. When you’re trying to build what we are with your football team, those aren’t the type of guys you trade.”
For the first time in a long time we can write these words about the Redskins' quarterback situation: with RGIII and Cousins on the roster, too much talent is a good problem to have.
