Robert Griffin III not only is being sidelined, he will be inactive Sunday when the Washington Redskins take on the Atlanta Falcons.
NFL Media's Jeff Darlington reported Wednesday that Redskins players have been told Kirk Cousinswill start and Rex Grossman will be the backup, according to a team source.
Earlier Wednesday, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the game plan for Sunday indicated that the Redskins appeared to be moving forward with Cousins at quarterback, according to two people who have seen the plan.
RGIII later confirmed to reporters at his news conference that "coach decided to shut me down for the rest of the season."
A person close to RGIII, when asked how the quarterback is dealing with the demotion, told Rapoport that Griffin is stung but has perspective: "His dad served in Iraq. This is football."
Mike Shanahan said Monday he might consider sitting RGIII to keep him healthy, which was surprising considering the second-year pro played in 13 consecutive games without injury. The Redskins also face one of the softest defenses in the NFL on Sunday.
If health truly is the reason, making RGIII inactive makes the most sense.
Griffin has struggled this season coming off ACL surgery, but he hasn't missed time due to the injury. Some regression should have been expected from his excellent rookie season, given that he has yet to have a full NFL offseason. However, RGIII has been far from the only problem with the Redskins; he's just the highest profile disappointment.
Shanahan mentioned Monday that if a change was made, it would be for the rest of the season.
In the middle of this mess sits Cousins, who performed well in relief of RGIII last season. The 2012 fourth-round draft pick should get three games to audition for other teams.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped all the Week 14 games. *
