Immediately after Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III injured his knee in the team’s playoff loss to the Seahawks, he said that he would have been “highly upset” if the Redskins had taken him out of the game after he injured himself early in the contest.
Three months of rehab for an ensuing ACL surgery later, Griffin is singing a different tune in an interview with ESPN the Magazine. Griffin said that while he doesn’t feel like it was a mistake to keep playing in that game, his experience has taught him that a more cautious approach is called for in the future.
“I don’t feel like playing against the Seahawks was a mistake. But I see the mistake IN IT,” Griffin said, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. “With what happened and how everything was running — you take me out. If that happened again next year, I’d come out of the game and sit until I was 100% healthy.”
Moehringer writes that it feels like a big admission and we’d agree. It’s a departure from what we’ve heard from Griffin in the past.
There’s been a lot said about who was to blame for Griffin, who remains confident that he’ll be recovered in time to play in the season opener, continuing to play until his knee gave out once and for all. The fact that you can’t unspill milk makes it important to also focus on how to deal with the inevitable knocks Griffin will pick up in the future. Missing a few plays, quarters or games isn’t ideal, but it is better than missing months or more by playing while in a compromised physical state.