RGIII healthy enough to play, Shanahan says

Quarterback ready to go against Eagles if ‘there’s no setback.’

WASHINGTON — Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III will be healthy enough to play Sunday if he has no setbacks before the team’s Week 16 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, Coach Mike Shanahan said Thursday.

Griffin, who missed last Sunday’s game with a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee suffered in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens, went through his second consecutive day of full practice Thursday.

Doctors watched Griffin closely to see how his knee responded to Wednesday’s practice, looking for swelling or increased pain after his most extensive action since he suffered the injury. But he didn’t experience either and had a good practice Thursday, according to Shanahan.

“If there’s no setback, doctors feel that he’ll be ready to go,” Shanahan said after Thursday’s practice. “There was no setback today, so that’s a good sign.”

Griffin said that he doesn’t feel any weakness or limitation in his knee, and he appeared to move with ease. But Shanahan said, “Obviously, he’s not 100 percent yet. I think everybody knows that. But like I said, if there’s no setbacks he’ll be ready to go.”

Griffin wanted to play last week at Cleveland, but Shanahan announced Saturday evening that backup Kirk Cousins would instead start.

Griffin has been wearing a brace on his knee during practice the last two weeks. He said he has trained himself to play and move without being restricted by the brace. But it remains to be seen whether he will wear it against the Eagles.

“I’m not sure if he’s going to wear the brace or not,” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “I don’t really ask him that stuff. He’ll know toward the end of the week. He’ll wear it if it helps him. If not, he’ll take it off.”

Either way, Griffin said Wednesday he will not abandon his aggressive style of play.

“The day I think about throwing the ball away at the beginning of a play, I should stop playing,” he said. “It’s just something that happens. I’ve thrown the ball away this year, but it’s not something you take into a game plan. ‘All right. I’m going to go 1-2 and throw it out of bounds.’ I just think that’s a faulty approach to the game, but I get where everyone is coming from.

“I continue to protect myself. This latest injury could have happened to anybody.”