Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins are “astonished” by quarterback Robert Griffin III’s recovery from offseason knee surgery. This, according to beat reporter Chris Russell of ESPN 980, who spoke with someone on the team’s medical staff.
Shocking!
I’ll tell you what would astonish me, if Griffin or someone on the Redskins said something to the effect of “the recovery is coming along, maybe not as quickly as we’d like, but we’re taking it slow, and working to get back to 100 percent.”
But that’s not going to happen.
See, ever since Griffin tore two ligaments in the team’s playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the quest for him to start the 2013 season opener began. And let’s be clear, this quest has been as much media campaign, as it has actual rehabilitation.
Yes, at every turn Griffin has been “ahead of schedule.” In fact, he was “ahead of schedule,” as early as February, and again in March. Keep in mind, the surgery occurred Jan. 9.
Now, I get Griffin is young. I get he tends to be a glass half-full type of guy. I also get that you don’t win the Heisman Trophy, become the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft and win Offensive Rookie of the Year without an abnormal level of drive. And I admire his desire to rehabilitate his knee to get back in the lineup as soon as possible.
But I’m also concerned.
I’m concerned that this injury and subsequent recovery has become about more than the knee recovering. In other words, because Griffin has been so insistent about being ready to start the season and telling us that everything is “ahead of schedule,” he now feels the need to prove that.
And let’s face it, the combination of he and head coach Mike Shanahan haven’t exactly shown the best judgement when it comes to managing the young quarterback’s health.
In short, Griffin may in fact be ahead of schedule. Doctors may in fact be astonished by his recovery. And although that is not all I want to hear, it is very much what I’ve come to expect.
Brian Carroccio is a Washington Redskins blogger for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @bricarr2, ”like” him on Facebook and add him to your Google+ network
