Washington head coach Jay Gruden isn't sure how long Robert Griffin III is going to be out after suffering a concussion on Thursday night, but when he does return he is expected to resume his role as the team's starting quarterback. A report later Friday morning suggested that RG3's concussion "isn't believed to be severe," and he could play in Washington's next preseason game against Baltimore.
Washington unsure how long RG3 will be out
Head coach Jay Gruden added that Griffin will most likely retain the starting job whenever he does return.
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In four drives on Thursday night, Griffin completed 2 of 5 passes for just eight yards and was a tackling dummy for the Detroit Lions defense, for the most part. He was sacked three times and hit an additional three times, while the Washington offensive line did little to help.
Despite the disastrous start that ended with Griffin being attended to by trainers and helped off the field, Gruden told reporters that Griffin is still the team’s starter (via the Washington Post):
“I would imagine, depending on how long he is out, he is still going to be our starter,” Gruden continued. “We have to wait and go through the whole process and see how he recovers; see how fast he recovers. I have no idea as far as the third preseason game, fourth one, right now.”
Gruden explained that he doesn’t want to overreact to the results of Thursday night considering the quality of the Detroit Lions defense. That’s a fair point after the Lions finished No. 2 in total defense in 2014 and racked up 42 sacks.
Still, the flaws of the offensive line, particularly rookie first-round pick Brandon Scherff, were obvious regardless of competition, especially considering the Lions no longer have Ndamukong Suh and entered the second week of the preseason with just two of their starting defensive lineman:
Griffin spent the majority of his limited time on the field attempting to stand tall in the pocket and deliver passes among the chaos. In some cases, he bravely managed to deliver passes before getting belted by blitzers; in others, he was hit before he ever had a chance.
Yet despite three drives worth of hits and punishment, Gruden sent out Griffin and the starting offense for another shot at the Lions defense, which proved to be his quarterback’s last drive of the game.
“We felt confident in our tackle and our offensive line to try and get something going there with the fourth drive,” Gruden said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Washington. Three-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams is expected to return soon after sitting out Thursday night with a sore toe. Which makes Gruden's insistence on leaving Griffin in the game and under fire even more questionable.
Griffin has plenty to prove as a quarterback, but was proving anything even possible in those conditions? He proved he was willing to stand tall and deliver a pass under pressure, and he proved that leading an offense is essentially impossible if hits are coming on every pass play.
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