REDSKINS Griffin cleared
WASHINGTON - Robert Griffin III has passed a major test toward his goal of playing in Week 1, getting the go-ahead from the team doctors days before the Washington Redskins open training camp.
“Doctors cleared me to practice. Coach is going to ease me in,” Griffin announced Monday on Twitter.
The two sentences represent hurdles past and future. Eventhough Griffin says he has the medical OK, it is now up to coach Mike Shanahan to determine how often and how vigorously Griffin practices when the Redskins open camp Thursdayin Richmond, Va.
The Redskins had no comment on Griffin’s tweet. However, a person familiar with the situation said the Redskins have cleared Griffin to practice. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the club has not made an announcement.
Still, it seems more likely than ever that Griffin will be under center when the Redskins open the regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 9, just eight months after he had reconstructive surgery on his right knee.
“It’s great news,” right guardChris Chester said. “I’m really excited about it. It’s a great chance to continue from where we left off last year.”
Griffin’s injury and subsequent rehabilitation overwhelmed the Redskins offseason. He led the club to its first division title in 13 years in 2012 and was chosen the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, and his unique talents are needed if the team is to sustain that momentum.
Griffin injured the knee multiple times last season. He missed one game after spraining the lateral collateral ligament, then reinjured the knee at least twice more in the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January. He had surgery a few days later to repair the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament.
JETS
Rookie QB Smith signs
NEW YORK - The New York Jets signed quarterback Geno Smith, their second-round draftpick, on Monday to a four-year contract that is worth about $5 million.
Smith, drafted 39th overall after an unexpected slide out of the first round in April, is competing with incumbent Mark Sanchez for the starting quarterback job. The signing was announced by the team, which still has its two first-round picks - cornerback Dee Milliner and defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson - unsigned.
The Jets’ veteran players report for training camp in Cortland, N.Y., on Thursday, but rookies were reporting Monday at the team’s facility in Florham Park, N.J.
Smith and Sanchez are competing in what has been called by team officials an “open competition,” and neither noticeably outperformed the other in minicamp last month. But both appear to be confident about their chances.
Sanchez, at his recent annual “Jets West” camp in Southern California, said he “absolutely” expects to remain the Jets’ starting quarterback. Meanwhile, Smith - who raised some eyebrows when he chose to not attend Sanchez’s camp but said the quarterbacks are “cool” - told the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette over the weekend that feels “like I have a great shot” at winning the job.
The competition could go deep into camp as both quarterbacks try to show they have picked up and mastered offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s West Coaststyle system.
49ERS
Wright fails physical
SAN FRANCISCO - Cornerback Eric Wright failed his physical with the San Francisco 49ers, nullifying a trade to bring him to Northern California from Tampa Bay.
He was subsequently released by the Buccaneers.
San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh declined to say specifically what portion of the physical Wright failed and made just a brief statement on the situation.
“We don’t ever talk about that,” Harbaugh said Monday. “The information is he didn’t pass his physical, he’s not on the team.”
Thus ends a quirky four-day stretch that began after the 49ers appeared to have acquired the former second-round draft pick from Tampa Bay on Friday in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2014.
Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced that Wright had been arrested a week earlier in Los Angeles on an unspecified misdemeanor charge. It’s unclear if the 49ers were aware of Wright’s situation when they made the trade.
Wright was arrested in 2012 on felony DUI charges and was suspended for four games last season by the NFL for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy in his first season with the Bucs. Wright signed a fiveyear, $35.3 million contract with the Bucs prior to the 2012 season.
The move to trade for Wright immediately raised eyebrows after Harbaugh’s comments during the team’s June minicamp when he made it clear he wouldn’t accept players breaking the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs for a perceived edge.
Sports, Pages 18 on 07/23/2013