Pierre Garcon seemed ready for a breakout season with Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins when he caught an 88-yard touchdown in Week 1. Months later, it seemed like Garcon would be placed on injured reserve with a torn ligament in his toe. He returned last week but was a non-factor with three catches for 5 yards.
Brooks: Turkey Day primer
Week 12 opens with a three-course football feast on Thanksgiving Day. Bucky Brooks has analysis/picks for each game. **More ...**
Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Garcon is not back just for show.
"I have no doubt. He can definitely contribute more," Shanahan told The Washington Post on Wednesday. "But that's not really up to him. That's more up to the coverages that he gets and the looks that happen, and Robert going through the progressions.
"We called a few plays for him that didn't go for him, but it depends on how they play it, but that's really like that for any guy on our team."
Garcon didn't seem to be moving at full speed last week, but there were no next-day setbacks.
"I thought he did good," Shanahan said. "When Pierre came back against Tampa and in the Atlanta game, he was out there battling through it, but it was obvious that he wasn't running as well. He didn't get too many opportunities (Sunday). He got some short throws and stuff.
"At times, he had a chance and we went the other way with the ball. But when we looked at him hard after the game, he's still not 100 percent, but he was definitely running better than when he came back in those two games."
Not sure if that made any fantasy owners who held onto Garcon all this time feel any better. At least Shanahan confirmed the Redskins are not running him out there as a decoy.
But Garcon's game is built on his speed. Who knows if he'll ever be able to hit that final gear with that foot in 2012?
UPDATE: Garcon is optimistic he can play Thursday, but has been telling teammates that he first must test himself on the turf at Cowboys Stadium, FOX Sports Insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer reports.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
