Mike Shanahan preparing to start Kirk Cousins over RGIII, per report
Reports from inside the Redskins organization suggest Shanahan is moving forward with a plan to bench Robert Griffin III.
The Washington Redskins are moving forward with their plan to bench Robert Griffin III and replace him with Kirk Cousins, Ian Rapoport is reporting.
While coach Mike Shanahan has made no official announcement, at least two sources with knowledge of the gameplan have indicated to Rapoport that Cousins will start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
The same sources said RGIII has not been made aware of the decision yet, but that they expect the star quarterback to have an opportunity to plead his case before an official decision is made.
Wednesday’s practice will likely be an indicator as to whether Cousins will indeed get the starting nod, according to Jay Glazer.
“Looks that way but won’t be sure [Shanahan] settles on it until practice,” a team source told Glazer. “Mike can always change.”
If Griffin is benched this weekend, the move will likely be permanent. Shanahan stated on Monday that if he decided to sit the quarterback, it would be for the remainder of the season.
Shanahan brought up the possibility of benching Griffin at his weekly press conference on Monday, stating that he was growing concerned over the number of hits the franchise quarterback has taken over the past few weeks. Shanahan was careful to stress that the move would be about keeping Griffin healthy heading into the offseason, not the second-year pro’s declining play.
The coach said that “it would just be about the pounding that he’s taken ... Do you take the risk of having a guy possibly miss an offseason or do you play him and all of a sudden lose him for the offseason?”
Griffin missed the majority of his first offseason rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the playoffs last season. He has been sacked 24 times over the last five games.
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