The Washington Redskins claimed a 24-13 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week two of the preseason on Aug. 19. But the win was overshadowed by an injury to their backup quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
Cousins had become sort of a fan favorite in Redskins Nation after playing well in place of their franchise savior, Robert Griffin III, who is still in process of returning from his knee injury.
The second-year quarterback out of Michigan State had an impressive performance in week one of the preseason against the Tennessee Titans, and was expected to play the entire first half on Monday against the Steelers.
Instead, he was knocked out of the game before the first quarter ended and left FedEx Field walking with crutches and a protective boot on his foot; the injury was described as a mid-foot sprain.
³I felt it initially, and as I was walking back to the huddle, I started to self-evaluate about could I change directions if needed and be an athlete, and I started feeling it and decided. You know what? Preseason game number 2 with a long season ahead of us, now is not the time to try to be a hero, Cousins told the media after the game.
Ironically, he injured his foot almost in the same manner of which RGIII suffered his devastating knee injury by scrambling up field. Cousins scrambled out of the pocket on a designed bootleg play, and took off up field after finding no receivers open. He picked up seven yards for a first down, but was pushed out of bounds by Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. When he stood up, he was grabbing his right foot.
The untimely injury leaves the Skins with just two other healthy quarterbacks on the depth chart: 11-year veteran Rex Grossman and six-year journeyman Pat White. Grossman played most of the remainder of the game against the Steelers, completing 10-of-16 passes for 133 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
White, known mostly as a speedy mobile quarterback out of West Virginia University, completed just 3-of-6 passes for 22 yards and an interception.
The good news for Skins fans is that RGIII met with orthopedist James Andrews, who examined him and discussed his timeline for recovery. There still hasn¹t been any official word that Griffin will return in time for the start of the season, but the quarterback appears healthy and on pace for a return soon.
