Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin IIIAlex Brandon/The Associated Press
The Washington Redskins finally allowed Robert Griffin III to speak. So he referenced Winston Churchill and played along with the uncertainty whether he might make his return Monday night.
Griffin spoke for 1 minute, 17 seconds Friday near his locker, the first time he has addressed his injury since the day after he dislocated his left ankle in Week 2.
He did not take questions. His appearance was scheduled by the team after reporters suggested that Griffin's unavailability to the media was a possible violation of NFL access rules.
Coach Jay Gruden hasn't ruled out Griffin for Monday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys, but the coach said the plan remains for Colt McCoy to start. McCoy played the second half after Kirk Cousins was benched at halftime of Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans.
Here is Griffin's speech, in its entirety:
"How're y'all doing? Everybody's waiting, I can see it. You guys are ready. Nah, man, a quote that I stumbled upon during this process of being injured, being out, was by Winston Churchill, and it says, 'Courage is what it takes to stand up and do something. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.' "So during this time I've been listening, learning, growing as a player in this offence. It's our job to help this team win, and, you know, I've been there for Kirk and Colt as much as I possibly can, and being there for this team to make sure they're as ready as possible during this process. And it (stinks) that I can't get out there and play with them and help them get wins, but I've been listening to the doctors, listening to the trainers, listening to coaches. We're not going to rush my ankle.
"You know, it's a blessing that I wasn't hurt as bad as it could've been. It's been a blessing and I've been recovering right on time, so that's good. But at the same time we don't want to rush that. And it's Dallas week. We all want to beat Dallas. We know what this game means for our season, so that's what I've been trying to do this week, and making sure that I'm ready to go, making sure this team's ready to go, and whoever plays quarterback is ready to go. That's all I've got to say. Beat Dallas."
For the literary record, the quote widely attributed to Churchill actually reads: "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
For the football record, Griffin was again listed as limited in practice Friday. Gruden said McCoy took most of the first-team snaps, and that Griffin took first-team and scout-team snaps. The coach said he won't announce Griffin's status for the game until shortly before kickoff.
"We're still preparing for Colt to be the starter," Gruden said, "and Robert is continuing with his practice exertion."