Robert Griffin III is obviously not fully recovered from his right knee sprain.
But after he ran six times for 63 yards in Sunday’s playoff-clinching win over the Cowboys, there’s a ceiling for how much Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is going to worry about his quarterback.
“I was a little disappointed yesterday because he only averaged 10.5 yards per carry,” coach Mike Shanahan joked Monday, via Rich Campbell of the Washington Times. “I was hoping he would average a little bit more.”
The fact he was still able to get it done has a lot to do with Alfred Morris running well, but Griffin is still able to be effective without being completely well.
He’s wearing a brace to protect the sprained LCL in his right knee, and such devices are often as much of a psychological protection as physical.
“The doctors say he’s 100 percent,” Shanahan said. “We don’t have to worry about him re-injuring that LCL. The brace helps him at least mentally know that he’s not putting too much pressure on it. I think sometimes that’s why he looks a little bit different when he does cut. I think it bothers him just a hair, but it’s something that he has to wear.”
He has a few more days to recover before the Redskins host the Seahawks Sunday afternoon in the Wild Card round, and he’ll need it. They present a much tougher defense than the Cowboys, and the Redskins will need more than one weapon to beat them.