RG3 Out Until 2014?

[MDLT]

He did clear him to play in the game.

Maybe I missed another story, but this doesn't really sound like he did.

When Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III injured his knee on a gruesome collision in the fourth quarter of a 31-28 victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 9, he limped off the field for one play, then hobbled back into the huddle as fans and teammates held their breath.

Griffin, clearly injured and in pain, remained in the game for four plays before removing himself.

The following day, when the team revealed Griffin had suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament, coach Mike Shanahan was asked why he had risked the health of his franchise quarterback by putting him back into the game.

Shanahan said he let Griffin return with the blessing of James Andrews, the renowned orthopedic surgeon, who was on the sideline.

Andrews, however, told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday that he never cleared Griffin to go back into the game, because he never even examined him.

"(Griffin) didn't even let us look at him," Andrews said. "He came off the field, walked through the sidelines, circled back through the players and took off back to the field. It wasn't our opinion.

"We didn't even get to touch him or talk to him. Scared the hell out of me."

Yet when asked by news reporters, Shanahan described a conversation with Andrews this way:

"He's on the sidelines with Dr. Andrews. He had a chance to look at him and he said he could go back in," Shanahan said Dec. 10. "(I said) 'Hey, Dr. Andrews, can Robert go back in?'

'Yeah, he can go back in.'

'Robert, go back in.'

"That was it," Shanahan said.

Only that's not the way it happened, Andrews said. What's more, Andrews remains worried about Griffin's health as the Redskins play the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC wild-card game at FedEx Field today.

"I'm the one that shut him down that day, finally," Andrews said. "I've been a nervous wreck letting him come back as quick as he has. He's doing a lot better this week, but he's still recovering and I'm holding my breath because of it.

"He passed all the tests and all the functional things we do, but it's been a trying moment for me, to be honest with you."


After Griffin left the game against the Ravens, backup Kirk Cousins led the Redskins to victory, then started the following week's game — a victory against the Cleveland Browns — when Griffin was inactive.

The risky behavior and apparent cover-up regarding Griffin's knee injury is even more curious when Andrews described the team's responsibility toward the rookie quarterback — "to make sure he's OK for the next 15 years," Andrews said. "That's what you have to watch out for for players, because they don't know."

Andrews added, "He's a competitor. He didn't want to let his team down."

Andrews made the comments while promoting his book, Any Given Monday: Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them, for Athletes, Parents, and Coaches — Based on My Life in Sports Medicine.

Despite Griffin's insistence otherwise, today he will continue to wear the knee brace he's worn for the past several weeks, Andrews said. The brace has limited Griffin's speed and agility since his return in Week 16.

Shanahan and the team were criticized and fined earlier this season for the handling of another Griffin injury. The team described Griffin III as being "shaken up" immediately after he suffered a concussion in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL fined the Redskins $20,000 for not properly informing the news media of the injury.

 

[The Voice]

Maybe I missed another story, but this doesn't really sound like he did.

He cleared him to play the game, but when he got hurt again he didn't examine him on the sideline.

 

[MDLT]

He cleared him to play the game, but when he got hurt again he didn't examine him on the sideline.

Fair enough, but there was always discussion here in DC if bringing him back so quickly after the first injury against the Ravens was a good idea - again, the Skins management is the final decision-maker on that. While in some ways its understandable to do have him play, they ultimately are responsible for bringing back their phenom after what was a serious sprain to his knee - and keeping him in after he tweaked it Sunday night.

 

[Jack Brickman]

He cleared him to play the game, but when he got hurt again he didn't examine him on the sideline.

Granted I'm not a football coach, but when my franchise quarterback tweaks his already injured knee that he's wearing a brace on, I make him see the amazing knee surgeon who's ten feet away on the sidelines before I clear him to get back in the game.

 

[kriegs]

All of the controversy aside, Shanahan certainly would have been criticized if he sat his best player in the biggest game that franchise has seen in years. In sports sometimes there are grey areas. I agree that maybe he should have been benched after the 2nd Washington touchdown because he didn't look right, but RG3 is a warrior and a hell of a leader who has a hell of alot of trust from his head coach. He wanted to be in there and Shanahan trusted him, sometimes things don't work out.

The Redskins are my 2nd favorite team and I will be staying in Silver Spring this semester. RG3 is my favorite player. He is a determined athlete and super professional for his age. If anyone can make a comeback similar to Peterson, it is Griffin. I have had a similar knee injury and he has a long road ahead of him but I have faith in RG3 and will be pulling for him every step of the way. I just really wish the media wasn't casting such a cloud over the whole thing because seriously it's just tough luck....

 

[Jack Brickman]

All of the controversy aside, Shanahan certainly would have been criticized if he sat his best player in the biggest game that franchise has seen in years. In sports sometimes there are grey areas. I agree that maybe he should have been benched after the 2nd Washington touchdown because he didn't look right, but RG3 is a warrior and a hell of a leader who has a hell of alot of trust from his head coach. He wanted to be in there and Shanahan trusted him, sometimes things don't work out.

The Redskins are my 2nd favorite team and I will be staying in Silver Spring this semester. RG3 is my favorite player. He is a determined athlete and super professional for his age. If anyone can make a comeback similar to Peterson, it is Griffin. I have had a similar knee injury and he has a long road ahead of him but I have faith in RG3 and will be pulling for him every step of the way. I just really wish the media wasn't casting such a cloud over the whole thing because seriously it's just tough luck....

I think you deal with that criticism. At the very least, the kid should have been examined by a doctor before he returned to the game. It's not as if the Redskins don't have a perfectly serviceable back-up QB who could have taken a few snaps while RG3 was getting checked out.

 

[jlegg21]

Can you imagine if we made that trade and this happened? Here in Cleveland? There would be apocalypse-caliber rioting and piles of bodies under bridges all over the state.

Couldnt have been managed any worse, from the top on down. But hey, at least they still have a 1st in 2013, er 2014, er 2015...

 

[kriegs]

I agree Cousins could have won them that game but I don't think that people are realizing that this was more of a group decision between RG3 and Shanny, I'm sure Griffin said he felt fine, similar to McCoy when he had that concussion and stayed in...however if they had him "check out" with James Andrews it's not like he can have an MRI on the sideline. It's a knee, they move it around, talk to RG3 and see what he says. If he talks to James Andrews on the sideline he probably stays in because he would say the same thing that he did to Shanny. RG3 took a huge risk with his body and i'm sure it is a lesson he will learn from but my point is some of the "blame" has to be put on RG3 himself for not listening to his body....not to say I don't blame him for deciding to stay in there. It's just tough luck and I feel too much "blame " is getting tossed around when it is just a shitty set of circumstances....

 

[Jack Brickman]

I agree Cousins could have won them that game but I don't think that people are realizing that this was more of a group decision between RG3 and Shanny, I'm sure Griffin said he felt fine, similar to McCoy when he had that concussion and stayed in...however if they had him "check out" with James Andrews it's not like he can have an MRI on the sideline. It's a knee, they move it around, talk to RG3 and see what he says. If he talks to James Andrews on the sideline he probably stays in because he would say the same thing that he did to Shanny. RG3 took a huge risk with his body and i'm sure it is a lesson he will learn from but my point is some of the "blame" has to be put on RG3 himself for not listening to his body....not to say I don't blame him for deciding to stay in there. It's just tough luck and I feel too much "blame " is getting tossed around when it is just a shitty set of circumstances....

Did both RG3 and Shanahan get medical degrees during the course of the game?

 

[Giambiwannabe7]

Can you imagine if we made that trade and this happened? Here in Cleveland? There would be apocalypse-caliber rioting and piles of bodies under bridges all over the state.

Couldnt have been managed any worse, from the top on down. But hey, at least they still have a 1st in 2013, er 2014, er 2015...

Shurmur may have had RGIII in a body cast by week 3.

 

[kriegs]

No they don't have medical degrees, I'm just saying a knee injury is a litte more problematic than a concussion which is more cut and dry. Usually they leave the game as a precaution but with the stakes that high it got murky...even James Andrews admitted to not stopping him from going back in though he didn't get to really check him out....

 

[MD13]

Yikes...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Redskins QB Robert Griffin III will undergo total reconstruction of knee for complete tear of ACL and LCL. Recovery projection: 6-8 mos.</p>&mdash; Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport/status/288888298867400704" data-datetime="2013-01-09T06:01:52+00:00">January 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Pick6]

Yikes...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Redskins QB Robert Griffin III will undergo total reconstruction of knee for complete tear of ACL and LCL. Recovery projection: 6-8 mos.</p>— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport/status/288888298867400704" data-datetime="2013-01-09T06:01:52+00:00">January 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

at least the recovery isnt projected to be as long as initially reported.

 

[MDLT]

A worse outlook provided here

RG3 reportedly suffers torn LCL; surgeon says return for next season 'not the norm'

Robert Griffin III may have to wait a full season to take the field again. That's according to an orthopedic surgeon trained by Dr. James Andrews, the renowned specialist who examined Griffin on Tuesday.

Michael Jablonski, a former team physician for the Orlando Magic, said he tells patients who have injuries similar to Griffin's to expect eight to 12 months to return to play, and more than that to feel as strong and stable as before the injury.

And, unfortunately, there is a chance Griffin, the Washington Redskins star rookie quarterback, may not regain the Olympic speed he has shown in his career so far.

It was reported Tuesday that Dr. Andrews will surgically repair Griffin's lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, which he tore in Sunday's wild-card loss against the Seattle Seahawks. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Dr. Andrews will determine then if Griffin's anterior cruciate ligament needs to be repaired as well.

Jablonski says it's unlikely that the LCL was torn in isolation – "I've seen like five isolated LCL tears [in 13 years]" – and it's the potential of multiple ligament damage that puts Griffin's short-term prognosis in the most peril. Jablonski said ACL injuries take six to eight months to heal and "a year to forget about it," meaning a year before the patient doesn't feel any after-effects. The LCL complicates the issue, because while an ACL regulates front-to-back motion, the LCL controls side-to-side movement.

"It makes it more difficult," said Jablonski, now the orthopedic doctor for the University of Central Florida athletic department. "You're trying to restore stability in more than one plane."
And because Griffin's mastery comes in both straight-ahead speed and lateral motion, his full recovery will be more tenuous than it would be for a more traditional drop-back passer.
"For that type of player to return to that same level of play, the chances are going to be lower than if it was a single-ligament injury," Jablonski said.

Asked if Griffin's Olympic-level speed is at risk, Jablonski said, "There's no question it's at risk. Not everybody regains full range of motion. It's still unstable and maybe can't get back to what it was."

This is not to be overly pessimistic. Adrian Peterson suffered a multiple-ligament injury in December 2011 and returned to have an MVP-caliber season in 2012. He did not miss a single game. Andrews performed Peterson's surgery and he is, in Jablonski's words, "by far the best sports medicine surgeon."

But Jablonski feels the need to be straightforward with patients, and Peterson's expedited recovery is "very rare." Stiffness post-surgery is likely, and further procedures are not out of the question.

"When you have someone like RG3, you can use Adrian Peterson as a motivational tool," he said. "There's no question you can look at him and say it is possible. But on the other hand, there are certainly examples of athletes who didn't get back. You just have to be realistic with the patients. You might need more than one surgery." Griffin's LCL surgery may include ACL repair as well.

"When [Dr. Andrews is] in there, he's gonna look at the ACL," Jablonski said. "With these partial tears, he's going to make a decision. If it needs to be fixed, he will do everything at the same time."

Depending on the severity of the tear, an LCL can be sewn back together. An ACL, according to Jablonski, cannot. That ligament is repaired with material from another part of the body or even a cadaver. Because Griffin had reconstruction of his right ACL already, in 2009, there may be extra hurdles for Andrews to deal with if there is another tear.

"If someone has had an ACL that's been torn, it certainly makes a difference," Jablonski said. "If somebody has had an ACL tear, you have to deal with having scar tissue. You may have to find another source of tissue. It gets somewhat complicated."

Asked if a return to play next season should be ruled out for Griffin, Jablonski said no.
"It certainly is possible," he said. “But it's not the norm."

Link

 

[The Voice]

There's a double edged sword here. Remember when everyone called cutler out and questioned his toughness because he wouldn't play hurt.