Robert Griffin III didn’t think he had a concussion. Washington didn’t, either. That’s why both the player and the team were surprised when an independent neurologist assigned by the NFL ruled Griffin out for 1-2 weeks after the quarterback took several big hits in Washington’s second preseason game on Aug. 20.
Robert Griffin III’s situation in Washington keeps getting messier
Kirk Cousins is set to start for Washington in Week 1 after more confusion surrounding the status of RGIII.
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Kirk Cousins is now set to start at quarterback for Washington in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, while RGIII’s tenure in the nation’s capital continues to grow more bizarre with seemingly each passing week.
Jeff Darlington of the NFL Network is reporting that Griffin still doesn’t believe he has a concussion, and that the concussion evaluation the quarterback went through was slightly different from what Washington’s originally stated.
Source close to RG3 says RG3 did not see LEAGUE’S independent neurologist until Thursday, contradicting Gruden’s general wording yesterday.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) August 29, 2015 On Friday, that neurologist ruled Griffin out, saying he shouldn’t even be tested again for 1-2 weeks.
Press release from Skins. pic.twitter.com/IXPqYdiz8A
— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) August 28, 2015 That means Griffin is unlikely to be ready for the season opener, putting Cousins in the starting lineup.
How did this happen?
It all started in last week’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions, where Griffin was hit time after time by the Lions before leaving with what coach Jay Gruden said was a concussion.
Griffin, though, was allowed to take part in non-contact drills early in the week, and Gruden said that he had passed baseline concussion testings. That diagnosis seemed to be confirmed on Thursday, when Washington tweeted that Griffin was good to go in Saturday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens:
NEWS: Independent neurologist has cleared QB Robert Griffin III to play on Saturday vs. the Ravens. #WASvsBAL #HTTR
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) August 27, 2015 So, no matter what happened against the Lions -- Griffin didn’t think he had a concussion and couldn’t even figure out what play might have caused it -- everything was fine at that point. He would play against the Ravens, putting him on schedule to start the season under center.
A day later, though, the league neurologist ruled Griffin out of action, something that Darlington is reporting came as a surprise to both the team and its quarterback.
Griffin and his camp don’t think Washington has conspired with Dr. Kurtzke in an attempt to keep a healthy player on the bench, but that hasn’t stopped the conspiracy theories from racing through the fanbase.
Even if Gruden and the team are innocent of everything other than bad communication, they’ve still alienated the fans and cast questions on the NFL’s already troubled concussion policy.
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