- The Washington Times - Friday, December 26, 2014

Robert Griffin III was a full participant in practice Friday and Redskins coach Jay Gruden is confident the quarterback will be able to start the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.

Griffin was limited in practice Wednesday because of a mildly sprained right shoulder, an injury stemming from a sack in last week’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The third-year quarterback rested his shoulder Thursday, when the Redskins had a day off because of the Christmas holiday, and didn’t have any lingering pain while throwing Friday, according to Gruden.

“I think everything is full systems go with him,” Gruden said. “We’ll get a gauge for him tomorrow morning and see how he feels after throwing today and go from there, but we feel very confident he will be okay.”

Griffin returned to the starting role Saturday after the Redskins placed quarterback Colt McCoy on injured reserve with a pinched nerve in his neck. He completed 16 of his 13 passes for 220 yards and one interception. He was able to finish the game, even after sustaining the shoulder injury.

Gruden said he was satisfied with Griffin’s performance in practice Friday, though the team did not try to push him.

“We didn’t really go crazy today throwing 400 balls,” Gruden said. “I think it was a good amount for him to throw and just see where he is at, make sure he got a couple deep balls thrown today, make sure he was able to get it out quick and throw some good velocity-type throws, and he made all the types of throws that we need. We didn’t kill him and if he felt any soreness, we were going to pull him, but he was able to go through the whole period today and do the two-minute drill at the end, so he looked good.”

In other injury news, defensive lineman Jason Hatcher did not practice Friday and is listed as doubtful with a nagging knee injury. Stephen Bowen also was not at practice because of an illness. He’s listed as questionable.

Left tackle Trent Williams (shoulder), inside linebacker Keenan Robinson (knee), defensive lineman Chris Baker (toe/elbow), and outside linebacker Gabe Miller (ankle) were limited in practice Friday. Each of them is questionable for Sunday’s game.

• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.

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