Coach Jay Gruden on Thursday said Washington Redskins quarterback RG3 will start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Speculation that Robert Griffin III (RG3) would return began surfacing before NFL Week 8, but his return to the starting QB position was pushed to this Sunday’s Week 9 game.
RG3 has been out since Week 2, when he left the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a dislocated ankle. Washington won the game 41-10 with Kirk Cousins in a relief role. However, Griffin began taking first-team reps on Wednesday, and Redskins coach Gruden said he’s the presumptive starter.
“We have every intent of him starting,” Gruden said Thursday. “Last week he was running around like a banshee. He’s healthier than most of the guys we have playing. … We feel Robert gives us the best chance to win, that’s the bottom line.”
RG3 will replace Colt McCoy as the Redskins’ starting quarterback against the Vikings. McCoy took over the QB role from Cousins to start the second half of the Redskins’ Week 7 game against the Tennessee Titans. In his first full game as a starter last week, McCoy had 299 yards in Washington’s 20-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Still, hearing that Washington Redskins quarterback RG3 will start Sunday is a coup. Originally RG3 was thought to be lost for the season, but X-rays showed his dislocation did not come with any bone fractures, thus keeping alive the possibility that he’d return.
And what a wild return it could be. Watching RG3 go up against the Vikings’ rookie quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, could be entertaining. Bridgewater has more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (2) through five games and is clearly learning the ropes. Meanwhile, RG3 had already shown signs of struggling before he went down in Week 2 and is likely to be rusty going into Sunday’s game. Seeing if either QB has success this weekend will make for fun TV.
