Washington: Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan came under fire yesterday for leaving an ailing Robert Griffin III in Sunday’s play-off loss to Seattle but rejected any notion that he risked the rookie quarterback’s health.
Griffin only left Sunday’s 24-14 loss to the Seahawks when he injured himself while trying to grab a bad shotgun snap in the fourth quarter, but critics are suggesting the face of the Redskins should have been taken out of the game earlier.
“Robert is our franchise quarterback. I am not going to take a chance on his career to win a game,” Shanahan told reporters at a news conference yesterday.
“But I also know that when you have got the belief in the guy and you feel that he can play at a certain level and the doctor is telling you that he is OK to go in - then you have got to do what you think is right.
“If I didn’t think he was right then he wouldn’t have been in, its just that simple,” added Shanahan, who said he spoke to team doctors on the sidelines on four occasions during the game.”
Meanwhile, Griffin III, will have more tests on his injured right knee, the NFL team said, yesterday.
Shanahan said doctors need to distinguish between old an new problems, since Griffin had prior ligament injuries in the knee.
The sensational young star hurt the knee in a regular-season game against Baltimore, although he returned to that contest briefly before sitting out the following week. AGENCIES
