Washington Redskins Doing the Right Thing With Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin III is getting impatient; maybe even a little frustrated. He wants to play, he wants to get back in to the mix, and Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan is saying no.

Shanahan is in effect holding RG3 back--but it's for his own good.

Keith Allison/Flickr

RG3 had knee surgery seven months ago, and the team has been very careful about what they have allowed him to do so far. There was some uncertainty on whether he would be ready for training camp, but he was cleared and now 10 days into training camp he wants to do more.

“I’m ready to move on. There’s only so much you can do in seven-on-seven,” Griffin said.

Even though he feels ready, Shanahan has insisted that he be patient and take this slow. After Griffin was rushed back into action following a late season injury and then allowed to go back in during the playoff game with Seattle when he was clearly hurting it is understandable if Shanahan wants to err on the side of caution.

“We do have a plan for him. He may not always like that plan, but that’s my job, sometimes not to be liked,” Shanahan said, via Mike Jones of the Washington Post. “My job is to do the best thing for him..."

Although it has not been stated, the 'plan' for Griffin is likely influenced by what went down in the playoff game last season. Shanahan got blasted by the media and fans for letting Griffin play even though he was hurt. Had he not blown out is knee that game it might have been referred to as a gutsy move, but since Griffin did go down with a serious injury that has not been the case.

It's great that Griffin wants to get back to full speed, but he has to realize that it is more important that he is healthy and at full speed come Week One. Yes, he needs to get some work in with the first team, but training camp just started.

There is plenty of time for that still.