Robert Griffin III out, Colt McCoy in as Redskins prepare for Colts

It appears as though it will be Colt against the Colts on Sunday.

Desperate to revitalize an offense that has struggled mightily over the last three games, the Washington Redskins will turn to Colt McCoy as their quarterback and bench Robert Griffin III for their upcoming game against Indianapolis, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed early Wednesday morning.

Whether Griffin remains the team’s long-term answer at quarterback is uncertain. Griffin has been woeful since returning from a dislocated left ankle in the Redskins’ loss at Minnesota on Nov. 2, with a miserable performance in a loss to Tampa Bay on Nov. 16 followed by one Sunday in which he struggled within a watered-down game plan.

He attempted only 19 passes on Sunday in a loss at San Francisco, and though his performance was clouded by a subpar effort from the offensive line, he was unsuccessful on two attempts at a game-winning drive with fewer than three minutes remaining.

Coach Jay Gruden has been down on Griffin’s play since his return from injury, with his public critiques — first shared privately — revealed a great amount of distrust.

When asked Monday if Griffin would remain the team’s starting quarterback, Gruden hedged, saying that “there’s a chance [there would be changes] at a lot of positions.”

“Right now, we have every intent for Robert [to start], but we’ll look at the tape and make our evaluations here shortly,” Gruden said.

Gruden spoke to Griffin, McCoy and Kirk Cousins, the team’s three quarterbacks, on Tuesday afternoon and let them know of his decision. He was planning on sharing that decision with the rest of the players at a team meeting early Wednesday.

ESPN first reported late Tuesday night that McCoy would replace Griffin — and when the initial report surfaced, some players responded on social media platforms with disgust that the decision was prematurely made public.

McCoy, acquired by the Redskins in the offseason, played a large role in two of the Redskins’ three victories this season. He guided the offense to a come-from-behind victory against Tennessee on Oct. 19, replacing a turnover-prone Cousins at the start of the third quarter, and then helped topple Dallas, which had then won six of its first seven games, in a nationally televised “Monday Night Football” game on Oct. 26.

Once Griffin was cleared to return from his injury, which he sustained in the first quarter of a Week 2 victory over Jacksonville, the Redskins returned to him as the starter. But Griffin has degenerated within the structure of the offense, frequently making fundamental mistakes — including exhibiting improper footwork, misreading the defense and erring in his progressions.

The output has rankled the Redskins’ top two receivers — DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon — with Jackson taking varying veiled shots at Griffin on social media platforms during the last two weeks. Garçon, meanwhile, was asked about the Redskins’ trick play in the first quarter, a pass from Garçon to Jackson, and said he wasn’t looking forward to throwing it, asking rhetorically, “This is where we’ve come?”

Gruden even admitted after the game against Tampa Bay, a 27-7 loss to a team that had won only one of its first nine games, that he pondered replacing Griffin with McCoy late, only to decide there would be no advantage in doing so.

It’s a far fall for Griffin, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft in 2012 and a player who was named the offensive rookie of the year by The Associated Press following a season in which he set multiple team and league records.

He underwent surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his right knee at the end of that season, the result of injuries sustained in the final month and the playoffs, and spent the next seven months recovering, emerging as a shell of himself when the regular season began last September.

Still, he operated within the confines of an offense constructed by then-coach Mike Shanahan and then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — one that simplified his reads and progressions and leaned heavily upon the running game. When the coach, offensive coordinator and several other assistant coaches were fired at the conclusion of last season, the Redskins turned to Gruden, a first-time NFL coach who arrived with plans to help Griffin evolve into a pocket passer while still keeping intact the running ability that made him successful in college and during his rookie year.

Griffin and the offense played poorly in limited preseason snaps, and though his performance in a season-opening loss at Houston was nothing special, it seemed likely he would only improve as the season continued. Instead, Griffin was struck by injury a week later, leading to a six-game layoff.

Since returning, his misfortunes have continued. His 85.7 passer rating is 24th among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes this season, and in addition to being sacked 20 times — 14 fewer than San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, who has played in six more games — Griffin has been sacked at least three times in the last nine games he was able to finish.

Coincidentally, the game Sunday would have been the first regular-season meeting of the quarterbacks taken with the first two picks in the NFL Draft in 2012 — Griffin and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, the top overall pick.

Griffin was scheduled to hold a press conference at Redskins Park at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with Gruden speaking after the team concluded its 1 p.m. practice.