Robert Griffin III Admits Should Not Have Been Playing When He Got Hurt

The most talked about knees in the nation's capital do not belong to the President or the First Lady, but the 23-year old quarterback of the Washington Redskins, Robert Griffin III. Will they--especially the one injured in the playoff game--be good to go on Opening Day in a few months?

No one knows; it all depends on how well RG3 rehabs his injury. We do know one thing--RG3 says he should not have been playing in the Seattle game when that fateful play occurred.

Ummm...I have something I'd like to say...

The admission comes in an interview that can be seen in its entirety in ESPN the Magazine. Now he hasn't said that he should not have been playing at all even thought an argument could be made for that since he first injured his knee towards the tail end of the regular season against Baltimore.

No, he is referring to when he first tweaked his injured knee in the first half of the game only to tear ligaments later in the fourth.

"I don't feel like playing against the Seahawks was a mistake, but I see the mistake in it," Griffin said in the article.

His logic is straightforward and clear. He is a fierce competitor, just like a first round pick, a professional football player, and a leader should be. He wanted to play and lead his team to victory.

Noble, admirable, but short-sighted. As hard as it is to think of it at the time, the big picture is something that has to be taken into consideration.

In this case it wasn't and not only did the team lose the game, but it's franchise quarterback--the guy that they hope will lead the Redskins to many victories over the next decade or so--was severely hurt. Knee injuries eventually catch up to guys that rely on their feet.

Too many or real bad ones end careers of young guys as well as old, and RG3 appears to understand now that he risked that.

It's good to know he's finally caught up with the rest of us (maybe next time his coach will protect him from himself).