Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan actually sounded like a more sensible man Sunday with his repeated refusals to talk about his relationship with owner Daniel Snyder and quarterback Robert Griffin III than he did 24 hours later when he had all that time to think about what to say.
USA TODAY Sports reported Monday that Shanahan wants to return to the Redskins in 2014 for the final year of his contract but also wants to bench a "healthy" RGIII for the team's final three games.
During his weekly Monday news conference Shanahan told reporters that his relationship with Snyder is "good" and the two would talk about Shanahan's future after the season.
I'm not going to go into detail about our relationship,'' Shanahan said. "All I'm saying is I get along with Dan quite well.
"You always want to come back. I love these guys."
Shanahan then said the conversation turned to Griffin.
"We talked about Robert," Shanahan said, referencing Snyder. "He asked me my relationship with Robert and I said I was his head football coach and not necessarily his best friend. I don't need to be his best friend.
"I want to make him the best quarterback possible and we can get through relationships and all those type of things. We talked about the hits that he's had (24 sacks, last five games).
"Do we put him in a position of getting injured and is it worth the risk for the Washington Redskins and the future of our organization? That's what we're talking about."
Shanahan went on to talk about Griffin's health. Instead of saying shutting down Griffin would give him a jump on getting his surgically repaired knee into another offseason conditioning program and be ready to go in 2014, Shanahan said Griffin is feeling good, presumably physically, which is why he's considering shutting down Griffin for the rest of the season.
But RGIII certainly could benefit from getting in three more games of work at full speed to give him a starting point going into the offseason. If his backup, Kirk Cousins, does well in Griffin's absence, then the team heads into the offseason with a quarterback controversy.
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