First Robert Griffin III proclaimed himself to be 100 percent healthy, then Washington players said they expected him to start the season opener. Now, it's official as Washington head coach Mike Shanahan said Griffin will start barring an unforeseen setback.
Mike Shanahan: Robert Griffin III will start Week 1
Surprise, surprise. Robert Griffin III was officially named the Week 1 starter.
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“He’ll be our starter on Monday night, unless there is some crazy setback we don’t anticipate,” Shanahan said, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Griffin was held out of the preseason despite returning to practice. From all accounts, he looks like he didn’t before suffering the injury. Washington took a cautious approach and held him out of games and waited until after his final checkup with Dr. James Andrews to officially name him the starter. He isn’t returning in limited fashion either. Shanahan said he has no doubts Griffin is physically capable of doing anything asked and he wouldn’t be playing if that wasn’t the case.
“If we didn’t feel like Robert was full-go and able do all the things he can be asked to do, he wouldn’t be in this game,” Shannahan said, via Rapoport.
Griffin tore his ACL in the playoffs against Seattle. The season opener against Philadelphia will be played almost exactly eight months after the injury. Griffin's recovery is similar to Adrian Peterson and Wes Welker, both of which tore their ACL's late in the season and were able to return by Week 1 the following year.
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