ASHBURN, Va. – Robert Griffin III felt good enough to attend something called a Rookie Success Program meeting Monday morning and seemed, by all accounts, to be doing just fine on the day after suffering his first NFL concussion.
Griffin still has to complete the league’s mandated return-to-play protocol before he’s cleared for practice, but his Washington Redskins teammates and coach Mike Shanahan were optimistic the Heisman Trophy winner will be able to play in this week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
“We should fine out in the next few days exactly what happens,” Shanahan said. “Right now it looks good. I’m not really sure if it stays that way. The professionals will monitor his situation and let us know if able he’s able to play or not. We surely have nothing to do with it.”
There’s nothing like a head injury to the future-of-the-franchise to make the ins and outs of concussion rules and symptoms suddenly the trendy topic inside Redskins Park. Shanahan described in detail the process Griffin will undergo, defended the decision to have the rookie described as “shaken up” during the game, and – most importantly – talked about ways to help prevent such an injury from happening again.
“In my experience, when the quarterback gets that first hit like he received, they slide a little bit sooner in plays to come,” Shanahan said. “They kind of protect themselves a little bit more.”
Cardinals lose RB Williams for season: At Tempe, Arizl, the Arizona Cardinals’ already embattled ground game has taken a severe blow with the announcement that running back Ryan Williams is out for the season with a left shoulder injury that will require surgery.
The Cardinals already are without Beanie Wells until at least Thanksgiving weekend because of a severe turf toe injury.
The hard-luck Williams missed all of his rookie season a year ago with a torn patella tendon. He injured his shoulder on a hard hit during last Thursday night’s loss at St. Louis.
Patriots’ Faulk to retire: At Foxborough, Mass., Kevin Faulk is retiring after 13 seasons with the New England Patriots.
The formal announcement is scheduled for Tuesday. Faulk, who appeared in just nine games the past two seasons, wasn’t active for the Super Bowl in February and hasn’t been with the team since. He missed all but two games in 2010 with a knee injury and began the 2011 season on the physically unable to perform list before playing in seven games.
Faulk spent his entire NFL career with the Patriots, who drafted him in the second round out of LSU in 1999. Primarily a third-down back, he is the Patriots’ leader with 12,349 all-purpose yards, 5,041 return yards and 4,098 kick return yards.
In his 13 seasons, he rushed for 3,607 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 431 passes for 3,701 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Chiefs’ Cassel unlikely to play next week: At Kansas City, Mo., Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against Baltimore and is unlikely to play in next weekend’s game at Tampa Bay.
Cassel was hit by the Ravens’ Haloti Ngata while completing a pass to Jamaal Charles in the Chiefs’ 9-6 loss. He remained on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field.
Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said Monday he’s not yet ruling Cassel out against the Buccaneers, but he also said that the quarterback’s health is of paramount importance.
Crennel said Brady Quinn will prepare to start Sunday’s game. Ricky Stanzi would be the backup quarterback.
