As media members and players from other teams weigh in on whether Robert Griffin III should be playing, those within the Washington Redskins' locker room insist the quarterback is fine.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Thursday that RGIII is healthy enough to produce.
"Robert is definitely healthy," he said, per The Washington Post. "Not from my opinion of studying X-rays, but from guys who know more than just football -- doctors. They say he's healthy and he looks healthy to me. I think it's just natural.
"Anybody playing with a knee brace and coming off their first year on the ACL, he might not be quite as explosive, or quite as fast -- just like anybody who's torn their ACL. But in terms of health, when the doctors say somebody's healthy, I definitely feel like he's healthy."
When Griffin has trusted his surgically repaired knee, he's looked more explosive as the season has progressed. However, the effect of the second-year quarterback missing the offseason is being seen on the field.
Shanahan said some of Griffin's ground struggles are more of a product of his evolution as a quarterback than anything medical.
"It's just a feel -- when to stay a passer, when to stay a runner, guys who have an option to make plays with their legs, they get caught in between a lot," Shanahan explained. "Yeah, there's a time and pace for it. Sometimes the defense gives it to you, and sometimes they don't. And when they don't, you've just got to get more comfortable as a passer, stay looking downfield and get rid of the ball."
The offensive coordinator -- who has been under fire in the D.C. area -- is correct that RGIII's evolution as a signal caller is still in its incubation stage. This offseason will be a crucial one for Griffin. The question is if Shanahan and his father will be guiding the offseason program.
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