Colt McCoy named Redskins’ starter, if medically cleared

The possibility lingered for three days at Redskins Park, the chance that Colt McCoy, even if healthy, could be benched in favor of beleaguered backup Robert Griffin III.

Coach Jay Gruden was blatantly noncommittal when asked as much in his Monday press conference. He continued to hide his cards when pressed about the quarterback situation Wednesday. With each day, the possibility of another quarterback change hung in the air.

Then Gruden walked to the podium Thursday, and removed all doubt.

McCoy will start against the New York Giants on Sunday, Gruden said, as long as he is medically cleared by doctors during one final examination Friday. The 28-year-old has a pinched nerve in his neck and has been limited in practice this week, but his gradual improvement has given the Redskins — and Gruden — enough hope to warrant the announcement.

Gruden’s decision said as much about Griffin, who has fallen from franchise stalwart to second-string scout team leader, as it did about McCoy, the journeyman who arrived in Washington at the bottom of the depth chart and has played for three teams in the past three seasons.

“We’ve had looks at all three quarterbacks,” Gruden said. “And based on what we’ve seen out of practice for the whole training camp and offseason and the game situations, right now we feel like Colt is in the lead. So if he’s healthy and he gets a clean bill of health, he’ll be our starter Sunday.”

Gruden said McCoy took the majority of first-team repetitions in practice Thursday, followed by Griffin and third-string quarterback Kirk Cousins. Asked if he had considered playing Griffin over a healthy McCoy just “to see where he’s at,” Gruden interrupted the reporter before the entire question had been asked.

“He’s right here. I know where he’s at. He’s right here,” Gruden said of Griffin, while gesturing to the locker room. “We’ve seen a lot of him.”

If McCoy has a setback in practice Friday, or is not cleared by doctors, then Griffin will start. Gruden, however, described McCoy’s final meeting with a doctor as simply a precaution, assurance that the quarterback’s neck will be able to sustain the physical stress of an entire NFL game.

McCoy was not permitted by the team to speak to reporters Thursday, but as of Wednesday, he said doctors had identified the exact nature of his neck injury.

“We know what’s going on,” McCoy said. “It’s just a matter of if it continues to improve and get better. Like I said, I’m doing everything I can in my power to be out there with my teammates. Look, we’ve got to find a way to win. We’ve got three games left in our division and, you know, I want to be out there.”

McCoy knows the fickle nature of Washington’s starting quarterback job all too well. In turn, he knows that sitting out due to injury could leave the door open for Griffin, who was once believed to be the franchise’s long-term answer at the position. The 24-year-old said Wednesday that he will be ready, should an opportunity present itself.

“This is a business and Coach makes the decisions. Players have to abide by those,” Griffin said. “For me, like I said, confidence is still sky-high. You go out there, you have fun and you try to do what you can to help your team win.”

In most weeks, the starting quarterback has received all of the first-team repetitions in practice, with the backup operating the scout team and running plays to mirror the upcoming opponent. This week, however, Gruden said practices have more frequently pitted the first-team offense against the first-team defense, giving both McCoy and Griffin ample reps.

Regardless of which quarterback starts Sunday, Gruden is looking for the type of smooth offensive performance that he has rarely seen through the season’s first 13 games.

“We have seen glimpses of what this offense can be. We really have, and that is what’s most frustrating about it,” Gruden said. “When you put up 500 yards against a good defense on the road [in Week 3 against Philadelphia] and you’re able to be a top-five or top-six offense over the first nine or 10 weeks, you know you have the capabilities to make big plays. … When plays are there to be made, we’ve got to make them.”