Redskins Coach MIke Shanahan held a pre-NFL Draft press conference Wednesday at Redskins Park, but since they don't actually have a draft pick until the second round (No. 51 overall is their first selection), we can just skip that part.
(If you do actually want to read about that, I apologize.)
The reason why Washington doesn't have a first-round pick in this weekend's draft is because it traded it to St. Louis last spring for the chance to select Robert Griffin III. Throughout the offseason, the management of RGIII's health has been the center of controversy after he required right knee surgery in early January.
Wednesday, Shanahan made it clear that Griffin will not see the field until he's absolutely ready to go and that he has learned from the criticism.
“As we go into next year, one thing that we will make sure of is Robert never plays if he’s not 100 percent,” he told reporters. "We need to make sure he doesn’t go too quickly because he could set it back. There’s time it’s going to take to do it the right way. The ligament needs time to heal.
"I get a feel for people the more I’m around them," Shanahan continued. "I think players get more of a feeling for me. If it’s your gut to take someone out, sometimes it changes from year to year. I know mine does with different players. Every situation is different. Sometimes you make the right call; other times you don’t. But at the end of the day, you’re always hoping that you learn from your mistakes whatever they are.”
Shanahan also made sure to throw in joke to lighten the mood, saying that if Griffin "does tell me something, I’m not going to believe him next year compared to last year."
"We’ll have fun with that," he said.
We sure will.
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