RGIII Meet Gilbert Arenas (Official RG3 Injury Thread)

[closg00]

From this mornings papers, It appears as-though RG has torn both ACL and LCL, THANKS Shanahan. Looks-like now we will get to find-out we have in Cousins next-year.

[LyricalRico]

Let's also remember to thank Dan Snyder, who apparently is too cheap to put down grass seed on his own field. And it's not just RG3. Adrian Peterson last year, and Chris Clemons in the same game!

[Nivek]

Lichtensteiger may also have been victimized by the field with his re-aggravated ankle injury.

[Rafael122]

I've thought about this for a couple of days and I believe both Mike and Griffin are at fault. Mike for still sticking with him when it was clear as day after that second touchdown that he was not the same player.

And I also blame RG 3 for being a bit...idiotic for wanting to prove his toughness to his teammates. Everyone knows he's tough, he's determined, so there's no need to risk going out there on one leg to try and gut it out. He hurt his team more than he helped. It was sad to watch really, and I hope it's just a partial tear. IMO, he's still going to need surgery one way or the other. I read a partial tear to an ACL still means you're susceptible to another ACL injury.

[LyricalRico]

^ Yeah, Raf - I also blame Griffin. And the Gil comparison is interesting, and could be compelling depending on how Griffin approaches his rehab and eventual return. RG3 was defiant at his post-game presser, insisting that he didn't hurt the team and that he was going to stay in the game no matter what. Could he try to come back too soon?

The opposite side of the coin is Lichtensteiger. He also tried to give it a go, and came out when it was clear he couldn't play. And now he admits that he probably shouldn't have tried to play at all on that ankle. I doubt we'll ever hear anything like that from Griffin (or Shanahan, for that matter).

[ash_k]

I blame the medical staff and the coaching...you could clearly see that the knee was worst than in the Dallas game from his very first run ..

I still cannot believe the medical staff said he couldnt risk any further injury on that knee..I mean I am not a doctor but if any part of your knee is weak/unstable and you are playing at the top level how can any doctor say "no risk for further injury on that knee" especially knowing RG3 style.

Mr Snyder, fix that field for godsake!

[Nivek]

I can guarantee the docs didn't say there was "no risk" for further injury. There's always some risk in football. They probably decided there wasn't a high risk of further injury.

[LyricalRico]

From the RG3 thread on the Wiz board:

I hope this goes down as a learning experience for him and the coaches. Cut the machismo and just do your job using some wisdom. Everybody knows he's got heart and he can play. I just hope and pray RG3 comes back strong.

He needs to just be put on the 2013 PUP list right now by default. Light work in training camp, no action in preseason, and inactive for the first 6 games. I don't care what RG3 says about being "ready", he's already proven that he'll say whatever he needs to say to play even if he's injured. The team needs to save him (and the rest of us) from himself.

[LyricalRico]

Some excepts from an article on what we can expect with RG3 post-surgery:

It’s a much harder rehab fixing both ligaments, and the problem we run into is … the rehab is tougher because the knee tends to get stiffer. It’s harder to get your motion back. You have to protect the knee from rotation post-op, so the rehab is slower or quite a bit slower, and what happens is instead of taking three or four months – which an LCL is probably three months and an isolated ACL might take three or four months – you combine them, and because of the problems of motion it could take a year, 14 months. It could take longer to get it rehabbed and rehabbed appropriately.

The problem with the first ACL tear is you tear it in 2009, then you play at Baylor [for two more years], then you get ready for the [NFL] combine and you go through the whole process, and all that stuff creates damage in the knee. When you get in the joint, you won’t be looking at a beautiful, perfect knee that is pristine. When you have breakdown in the joint, which you’re going to have when you have old ACL problems, you see pieces chipped off, you see loose pieces floating around. So, all of a sudden instead of having this beautiful 22-year-old knee, you have this degenerated knee that has joint service arthritis and breakdown, and that makes it much harder to rehab, so it makes it longer until you get to this mecca where you need to be able to play NFL football.

If I were a betting man, I would bet that they’ll reconstruct his ACL and lateral collateral, because if you leave him a little unstable, that’s like being a little bit pregnant, that doesn’t work. I would say there’s probably a 50-50 or 60-40 chance he doesn’t play next year, just because even though he’ll be pretty good, he won’t be pretty good enough. He’ll have decent stability but his strength won’t be back. He’ll have rotational issues.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/rg3s-reco ... O28aob4JnQ

Overall a pretty scary article in terms of what COULD BE happening in a knee that has a similar injury history as Griffin's. If he rushes this thing AT ALL, it could be the Kirk Cousins era before we know it.

[Nivek]

Minor point -- the Examiner article is NOT about what's "actually happening" in Griffin's knee. It's educated speculation about what might be happening in his knee. This doctor has great credentials, but he's not talking specifically about Griffin's knee because he hasn't examined it. He's talking about what could be happening in the knee based on his experience with other patients. I'm not saying he's wrong, but I do think it's important to recognize that he's speculating, not talking about Griffn's knee specifically.

[LyricalRico]

^ Good point, Kev.

[LyricalRico]

Update on the extent of the surgery:

According to Adickes, Griffin also suffered a slight tear of his medial meniscus, which Andrews was able to repair. In addition, in order to reconstruct the torn ACL, Andrews took a portion of bone and tendon from Griffin’s left (healthy) knee and grafted it to his right knee, a fairly common procedure for a revision of an ACL reconstruction.

Adickes said Griffin may have some discomfort in his left knee and will have more trouble getting around on crutches because of the left knee surgery. But neither the meniscus tear nor the left knee graft will lengthen Griffin’s recovery time, Adickes said.

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nf ... ml?hpid=z2

[LyricalRico]

Also, have you guys heard the audio of RG3 and Trent Williams? Where Griffin says that he hurt his knee on the first quarter pass to Garcon but told Trent not to tell anybody?

And B-Mitch on 980 says he went back and looked at the game log of the game when Griffin tor his ACL the first time. He says that he came back that game, too. He threw 3 touchdowns and was taken out when they were up by like 30 on Northwestern.

Check out the beginning of the first hour of Inside the Locker Room from January 10. Very telling about Griffin, and gives me concern about how this rehab is going to go.

http://www.espn980.com/audiovault/

Edit to add: Also check out the first segments of hours 2 & 3 of the Sports Reporters also on January 10, where they discuss:

- James Andrews' recounting of RG3 not even allowing the team doctors to examine him immediately after the initial hit in the Baltimore game.
- The possibility of him having a setback with the knee even before the Seattle game.
- Things that the team may be hiding about the surgery (see my post from his Baylor doctor above) and what they may have been hiding about the initial state of the injury after Baltimore game.
- What may or may not be in place to monitor RG3's rehab.

[closg00]

Thx Rico.

[LyricalRico]

Not sure where else to put this, but looks like the RG3 injury (and the others over the last couple years like Chris Clemons and Adrian Peterson) hasn't made Snyder open his wallet for some turf.

Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons both suffered ACL tears during their Wild Card playoff game and Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka suffered a strained calf that landed him on injured reserve following the game. All three injuries were potentially related to the conditions of the playing surface that was little more than painted sand in places.

Despite the conditions, Redskins general manager Bruce Allen says field turf is not an option for FedEx Field next season.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... xt-season/

Apparently just putting down new sod at the bye week (which they didn't do last year) is the "fix". I'm not impressed.

[LyricalRico]

Best news we've had on this in a while:

Robert Griffin III is healing from surgery to repair the ACL and LCL in his right knee.

Griffin suffered the injury during the Washington Redskins' playoff loss to the Seahawks.

“Feel like I need to say this," wrote Griffin. "Although my goal is to start Week 1, that doesn’t mean I will compromise my career to do so."

Read more: http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... z2LSd85zul

I really hope he means it.

[LyricalRico]

He's baaaaaaack (kind of)!

[LyricalRico]

Okay, NOW he's back!

Quarterback Robert Griffin III tweeted Monday that he's been cleared to practice with the Washington Redskins, who begin training camp on Thursday:

"Doctors cleared me to practice. Coach is going to ease me in. Thank you for your support & See you in Richmond" — Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 22, 2013

The Washington Post had reported that Griffin was to be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery to repair his torn ACL and LCL in his right knee, on Wednesday. The Washington Times, however, reported Monday that Andrews' examination of Griffin took place last Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite Griffin's tweet, the Redskins would not confirm Monday that the quarterback has been cleared.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/94990 ... d-practice

Apparently the Skins haven't said anything officially, but we all pretty much knew this is what would happen. I expect a shroud of secrecy during training camp and no reps in preseason, but it's clear they are "all in for week 1".

::Fingers Crossed::

[Upper Decker]

Can't wait for RG3's next self-serving co-directed documentary about the 0-3 start to the season. Anyone know what time ESPN has that scheduled?

[LyricalRico]

Bump. I guess this means he's finally back to 100%.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III hinted at it -- and it was widely expected to be the case.

But Griffin threw away any doubt Monday about the knee brace he had to wear all of last season.

Griffin tore multiple ligaments in his right knee during a playoff loss to Seattle in January 2013. He wore a brace on the knee throughout last season, but it was widely believed Griffin would need it for only one year.

But just in case there was any doubt, Griffin addressed the issue Monday night at the 36th Ed Block Courage Awards dinner.

"It's safe to say I won't be wearing the brace [in 2014]," Griffin said, according to CSN Washington.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10626 ... brace-2014

They usually say ACLs take a year for the person to really be back. Let's hope the injury is behind RG3 and he's healthy going forward.