The Washington Redskins will see the return of Robert Griffin III in their season opener game against the Philadelphia Eagles during Monday Night Football at 6:55 p.m. ET.
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According to ESPN, even though Dr. James Andrews cleared Griffin last week, coach Mike Shanahan did not officially say he would start Week 1 until Monday.
"You're always trying to take a look at what's in the best interest of your football team, obviously the health of your football team as well," Shanahan said. "But if we didn't feel like Robert was full-go, and he was ready to play and do all the things that you ask a guy to do, he would not be playing in this game.
"We believe he can do everything that a quarterback is asked to do."
Griffin, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw for 20 TDs, compared to five interceptions, and 3,200 yards while finishing as the league's third-highest rated passer with a rookie-record 102.4 mark.
Griffin will be taking his first snap in an NFL game since re-injuring his right knee since the Redskins playoff loss to Seattle, having undergone reconstructive surgery which left his status for the opener in doubt all offseason.
However, some teammates have already begun saying that Griffin has already started now practicing as if he has no issues with his knee whatsoever.
"Robert is back. He's back to being himself," linebacker Brian Orakpo said.
Eagles fans will be hoping that quarterback Michael Vick can get back to being the elite kind of player who was so often dominating in 2010, leading up to the Eagles playoffs run, instead of the turnover-prone and injury-plagued one that has been apparent from the past two seasons.
It is coach Chris Kelly's job to help make that happen, having named Vick the starter over second-year player Nick Foles to run his high-energy offensive style that he brought from Oregon. Kelly has stressed the ground game despite his fast-paced style running the Ducks, Vick has been encouraged to run more despite injury woes which sometimes came from reckless scrambling.
"I'm going to have the opportunity to do what I want to do in this offense and run the football," the 33-year-old Vick said. "And yes, I will be a threat. I think you've got to take on a certain mindset that you're going to play the game all-out."
