There wasn’t much hesitation from coach Jay Gruden about who to start at quarterback against the Vikings last week.
Gruden had no trouble saying that Robert Griffin III was the Redskins’ starter as long as he was deemed physically healthy and mentally prepared to return to the lineup after dislocating his ankle in Week Two. Griffin moved well during the 29-26 loss, but he had some of the same issues from the summer in terms of running the offense including a tendency to make decisions too slowly for the team to make big plays. That may be why Gruden said Monday that Griffin still has to show that he’s the right man in the long term.
“You start out with Robert, you give him all the reps in training camp and then he hurts his ankle and misses five or six weeks,” Gruden said, via CSNWashington.com. “We get a look at Kirk [Cousins]. We get a good look at Colt [McCoy] and now it’s back to Robert. So, the jury is still out on that position. But we feel good about Robert’s progress so far.”
Given the price the Redskins paid to acquire Griffin, there could be some jury tampering in Griffin’s favor from some in the organization over the second half of the season but Gruden’s been consistent this season in saying that he’s not tied into any player under center. Griffin may be able to change that, but the existence of those questions three years into his career make it clear that things haven’t gone as planned under center in Washington.
