Robert Griffin III suffers concussion in painful preseason outing vs. Lions
Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III left the game against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter Thursday night, suffering what the team called a stinger at first but later added that he suffered a concussion.
Head coach Jay Gruden said after the game that Griffin was going through the league-mandated concussion protocol after taking a hit to the head and neck area in the second quarter.
The Redskins’ offensive line let him down badly early — Griffin was hit or sacked on three of his first five dropbacks. Griffin completed two of five passes for 8 yards and took three sacks in four series of work before coming out. It was ugly.
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On the third-and-16 play he was injured, Griffin tried to recover his own fumble. Defensive lineman Corey Wootton fell on top of Griffin and appeared to tweak the area between his neck and Griffin’s right shoulder, with his head being hit to the side. (Wootton, you might remember, delivered the knockout blow with the Chicago Bears to Brett Favre with the Minnesota Vikings on his final NFL play in 2010.)
Griffin remained down for a few moments, being tended to by Redskins trainers on the field before walking off. Eventually, he was ruled out officially before the half had ended. Gruden said after the game that Griffin’s shoulder was fine. Depending on the timetable of the concussion, Gruden indicated that Griffin remains the starter. Right now, there is no estimate for his return.
Half of Twitter was criticizing Gruden for even sending RG3 back out there for the second quarter.
Look, it’s a fair point on either side: either Griffin doesn’t get the work with the starters (left tackle Trent Williams wasn’t out there Thursday, mind you), or he gets mauled with them. Double-edged sword there. It almost seems no matter how hard either the Redskins or Griffin tries, things just don’t work out.
This is not the way the Redskins wanted to start out this game, obviously, especially with first-round pick Brandon Scherff being abused on Griffin’s first sack. The Redskins are trying to find an identity, and now their quarterback was mauled in a brief spell against a depleted defensive front.
Even if Griffin is cleared for a concussion, would they consider sending him to face the Baltimore Ravens in the third preseason game? The way the Redskins pass protected, they might be better served leaving him behind.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
