As everybody witnessed late in the Washington Redskins’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks last weekend, the team’s star rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III seriously injured his already damaged right knee while attempting to recover a botched snap.
Much of the rest of the week between now and then was spent speculating as to the natue and severity of said injury. The speculation ended today as RGIII underwent surgery to repair his lateral cruciate ligament, and in the process it was revealed that his anterior cruciate ligament was damaged enough to justify repairing as well.
Said Griffin’s father in a text to USA Today Sports, “Robert's ACL is intact, but not enough for his profession. You and I could be fine. But he is an athlete. So they will replace”.
Naturally, with the dual recovery for LCL and ACL injuries, Griffin’s recovery time will be difficult to predict, other than that it will be long.
While Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson may have had a remarkable recovery from ACL and MCL injuries, rushing for the second most yards in a season in NFL history, such an example can hardly be used as a measuring stick in this instance.
With the heavy investment that the Redskins have in place in RGIII (they traded away a slew of draft picks to select him 2nd overall last year), they will undoubtedly be thinking about the young man’s long-term future and not rush him back if he is not ready to play opening day for the 2013 season.
The Redskins also drafted another quarterback last year—Kirk Cousins. The team may have to lean on his shoulders early next season while Griffin recovers. In three regular season games this past season, Cousins completed 33 of 48 passes for 466 yards, 9.7 yards per attempt, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 101.6.
After Griffin’s initial knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens in week 14, Cousins entered the game and led a game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion late in the game, which the Redskins later won in overtime. The week after he made his first career start, completing over 70% of his passes for 329 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
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