Monday at Redskins Park, head coach Mike Shanahan address some of the concerns that emerged from the Washington Redskins 24-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Obviously, the primary concern for everyone involved is the health of quarterback Robert Griffin III, who left the game after a vicious hit left him dazed.
Shanahan spoke at length about Griffin’s prognosis and how his young quarterback is feeling.
“He’s feeling good. I got a chance to talk to him for 15-20 minutes about an hour ago. He’s feeling good – no dizziness, no headaches, no vomiting. He feels like he’s done well on the tests he’s taken thus far. He’ll see a neurosurgeon, an independent neurosurgeon, here in about an hour or an hour and a half. He’ll go through the tests with him. Hopefully, there are no symptoms that happen over the next couple of days. We’ve gone through this process with [wide receiver] Aldrick [Robinson] last week, and so I’ve got a little bit better feel of the procedures going into this week. Aldrick obviously was out for about a minute and a half, and, at least to our awareness, Robert did not black out at all.”
Shanahan also updated the media on the schedule for Griffin’s treatment and whether he may play this week when the Redskins host the Minnesota Vikings.
“Today, he has basically rest and testing. Then tomorrow, if he passes the test, he’ll get a chance to get some cardio work – get a little workout in on the treadmill. Then if there are no symptoms – like headaches, dizziness, nausea, things along those lines – then he would be able to practice on Wednesday as long as there is no contact. Then, monitor that throughout the week, make sure no headaches come back or dizziness or things along those lines.”
Shanahan said he was unclear what the protocol would be if Griffin were to continue to exhibit concussion symptoms as the week progresses, indicating an independent doctor would be involved in the decision to clear Griffin for play.
Asked about the significance of Griffin getting injured while scrambling, Shanahan chalked it up to a “learning experience.”
“[Griffin] is going to learn a lot as time goes on. He is very competitive like most young quarterbacks are. You want to make every first down and you want to extend every play to the last second. Part of that is knowing that we have to have you out there so these quarterbacks learn in time when to slide. Now if it is the Super Bowl or you are going for a playoff win, then you take some of those chances. But part of process is staying healthy and obviously being out there for your teammates. And it was a learning experience for Robert.”
As for on the field issues, Shanahan indicated the team would work out “a few” kickers on Tuesday in response to Billy Cundiff missing again last week, but did not mention any specific names. Cundiff leads NFL kickers with five misses through four games.