Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III was placed on injured reserve Monday, Sept. 12, after suffering a shoulder injury.
The injury occurred during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Griffin was tackled by Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills as he was running out of bounds and fractured the coracoid bone in his left shoulder, according to ESPN. Surgery isn’t required to fix the fracture right now and Griffin’s shoulder won’t be re-evaluated for three or four weeks. He could possibly return to practice in six weeks but he will be out for at least eight games.
“It’s very unfortunate, Robert came in and has worked extremely hard to learn our offense and earn the respect of his teammates,” Browns coach Hue Jackson told the team’s website. “This is a tough loss because everyone has seen how invested he has been in this team and his dedication to the work needed to improve his craft. We all know these are the realities of the NFL, injuries occur and you have to find ways to overcome them so they don’t impede your progress. Robert will do everything in his power to rehab and get healthy but Josh McCown is on this roster for a reason and we have great confidence in him. He is more than capable.”
Griffin tweeted about how much he loves the Browns on Monday.
The quarterback signed with the Browns in March as a free agent after being with the Washington Redskins. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 190 yards, rushed for 37 yards and had one interception on Sunday. McCown will take Griffin's place while he is out. McCown completed 186 of 292 passes for 2,109 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions last year and was 1-7 last year and has a 18-39 career record.
Fans reacted to Griffin going on injured reserve via social media.