Although Robert Griffin III faces a lengthy offseason of rehabilitation, the Washington Redskins remain hopeful their starting quarterback will be ready come September.
ESPN's Adam Schefter -- who is close with Redskins coach Mike Shanahan -- tweeted Thursday that Redskins officials are encouraged by Griffin's progress following major knee surgery last month and believe he has a legitimate shot to start Week 1 of the 2013 regular season.
That falls in line with Griffin's assessment at NFL Honors, where he told reporters, "I'm going to take it slow. My goal is Week 1, that's all I'm really worried about, so I'll make sure I'm ready to go."
We're in the heart of February, seven months away from the opener. There are many miles to go and plenty of time for RG3 to mend after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in a playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Naturally, the Redskins remain encouraged. After what we saw with the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson and the Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles in 2012 coming off serious knee operations, there's reason to believe Griffin will be back.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
