Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III has been placed on injured reserve after injuring his shoulder in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Griffin, 26, has a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder and could miss an extended period. An MRI confirmed the break, but he will not require surgery and will be evaluated in 3-4 weeks.
“It’s very unfortunate, Robert came in and has worked extremely hard to learn our offense and earn the respect of his teammates,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said in a statement. “This is a tough loss because everyone has seen how invested he has been in this team and his dedication to the work needed to improve his craft. We all know these are the realities of the NFL, injuries occur and you have to find ways to overcome them so they don’t impede your progress.”
Josh McCown will take over as the Browns’ starter. Rookie Cody Kessler now gets moved up to No2.
“Robert will do everything in his power to rehab and get healthy but Josh McCown is on this roster for a reason and we have great confidence in him,” said Jackson. “He is more than capable. His veteran presence has been an asset to our team throughout our process of preparing for the season. We look forward to him assuming the role of the starter and leading our offensive unit.”
Griffin ran into contact along the sideline during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss and took a big hit from Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills instead of running out of bounds or sliding. Griffin has long had issues with avoiding such hits. The quarterbacl said after the game that he suffered a sprained shoulder but would be OK. He returned for the game’s final series, but admitted after the game “it hurt pretty bad”.
“I was trying to get out of bounds,” Griffin said, explainig why he chose not to slide. “He kind of just surprised me there. I feel like I had done a decent job of protecting myself recently. I wanted to continue that. To get hit him that moment kind of surprised me there.”
In his postgame news conference, his cellphone rang. “It’s my mother,” Griffin said with a smile. “She’s really worried about me.”
