In a conference call with Indianapolis reporters Wednesday morning, Redskins coach Jay Gruden confirmed that Colt McCoy will start Sunday.
Gruden also said Robert Griffin III will be the team’s No. 2 quarterback, leaving Kirk Cousins likely inactive for another game.
“The reports are accurate. They usually are when they get them from somewhere,” Gruden told reporters. “Yeah, Colt’s going to start this week at quarterback and we’re going to play Colt. He’s done some good things in his time as a starter, he’s 2-0. He came in against Tennessee and won the game and started against Dallas and won the game and I felt like he deserved a bit of a promotion.”
The decision comes on the heels of three straight losses, most recently a defeat in San Francisco on Sunday. Gruden acknowledged the NFL is “a game-by-game league” and that the offense needs to show improvement.
“Obviously, I’m not putting the blame all on Robert,” Gruden told reporters. “I understand there are other issues involved here but we’re 2-0 with Colt as a starter and I just want to give him an opportunity to play well. Robert has done some good things at quarterback but I just think he needs a little bit more time in this system with the verbiage and the plays to sit back, take a step back and learn and when he gets back in there he’ll be a lot more decisive, hopefully, and ready to roll. But right now, I just felt moving forward for Indianapolis that Colt would give us a better chance this week.”
Griffin dislocated his left ankle in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and missed six weeks. When he returned against the Minnesota Vikings, he threw a late interception to seal a loss. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was intercepted twice in the first half en route to one of the most disappointing losses in recent years. On Sunday, he threw for only 106 yards.
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Off the field, Griffin has been the center of swirling reports and media attention for several weeks. An anonymously sourced report Nov. 2 claimed he had “alienated” himself in the Redskins locker room. Last week, after Washington’s loss to Tampa Bay, he preached a need for collective improvement from the team, causing some to believe he was not adequately accepting blame.
Last Monday, Gruden was brutally honest in his critique of Griffin’s mechanics against the Buccaneers, criticizing everything from the quarterback’s footwork to his inability to make simple reads. Gruden apologized two days later for making his comments public, but he did not withdraw them.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gruden informed Griffin that he was being benched. The first-year coach said Griffin did not take the news particularly well.
“He’s a great competitor, man. He’s not happy, nor would I expect him to be happy,” Gruden told reporters. “Ultimately, a lot of people are making it out [as] me vs. Robert. It’s not at all. I have a lot of respect for Robert as a quarterback and Robert as a person.
“We just want him to take a step back, work on his craft a little bit more, study the game a little bit more so the next time he’s in there he’s raring to go and has a little more faith and confidence in what he sees. But he wasn’t happy, nor would I expect him to be happy. Colt wasn’t happy when I told him Robert was coming back into the starting lineup. And Kirk wasn’t happy when I told him Colt was coming into the game. It’s tough duty at the quarterback spot – any position, when you get told you’re not starting anymore, nobody should be happy and Robert was not happy.”
Griffin was previously scheduled to speak to the local media on Wednesday morning, but his press conference was cancelled. Gruden will address reporters at Redskins Park after the team’s 1 p.m. practice, which is expected to conclude around 3 p.m.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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