As the Redskins continue paring their roster to meet the NFL’s 4 p.m. deadline for final cuts, it is all but certain that Griffin will be among the 53 players still under contract.
The Post reported on its website Friday night that the Redskins planned to keep Griffin on the squad as a backup after naming Kirk Cousins the starter for the season. “He’s on the team,” a person with access to the decision-making process said of Griffin.
The only other possibility — and it is remote — is if the Redskins were to receive a trade offer so compelling that officials felt they could not turn it down. But the Redskins are “not shopping” Griffin, as one source said.
It is possible, however, that the team leaked a plan to name Griffin the No. 2 quarterback, ahead of Colt McCoy, once he’s medically cleared in order to spark interest in a trade by signaling the value they feel Griffin still holds.
A person familiar with the thinking of the front office said that Coach Jay Gruden hasn’t decided whether Griffin will be the No. 2 or 3 quarterback, but a different source close to the process said the expectation is that Griffin will be No. 2 on the depth chart.
Meantime, sources close to both the quarterback and the team were awaiting word on whether Griffin would be medically cleared to return to competition following an examination by two specialists Friday. The Redskins are precluded from trading or cutting Griffin until he’s deemed fit enough to play games.
The Aug. 20 concussion was the third of Griffin’s career. On Aug. 27, after Griffin had taken part in a full week of practice despite the injury, an independent neurologist, Robert N. Kurtzke, cleared his return to games.
The next day, Kurtzke reversed himself, erring on the side of caution after reviewing data from the quarterback’s post-concussion tests. Kurtzke recommended that Griffin be re-tested in one to two weeks, although the NFL Concussion Protocol does not set timetables for any aspect of a player’s return to competition.
An NFL official told The Post Friday that Kurtzke has resigned from the neurological consultant program operated by the league and the NFL players’ union but would remain responsible for determining when to clear Griffin’s return to play.
Coach Jay Gruden said after Thursday’s preseason finale that Griffin would be re-tested by two medical specialists on Friday. One of those specialists, according to person with knowledge of the process, was Arlington-based neurosurgeon Abraham Kader, whom a league official told The Post would succeed Kurtzke as the new NFL/NFL Players Association neurological consultant to the Redskins.
Individuals close to the process said Kurtzke’s decision to err on the side of caution last week, given Griffin’s concussion history, was the prudent thing to do. Kader was expected to play a role, with Kurtzke, in re-evaluating Griffin’s health on Friday.
The Redskins in April picked up the fifth-year option on Griffin’s contract, which guarantees him a $16.1 million salary in 2016. The team can avoid paying that salary by cutting or trading him during this season. But if Griffin suffers an injury during 2015 that prevents him from passing a season-ending physical, the Redskins will be obligated to pay the $16.1 million he is due next season.
Given Griffin’s injury history, the specter of that scenario has led many to speculate that the quarterback would be useless as a backup because the Redskins wouldn’t risk playing him. A person familiar with the front-office thinking dismissed that perception out of hand, saying the team wouldn’t hesitate to activate Griffin if he’s needed.
The fear of him getting injured and triggering the contract guarantee, the person said, would not stand in the way. In other words, the person explained, if Griffin is on the 53-man roster, Gruden must have the latitude to use him if needed.
Staff writers Mark Maske and Mike Jones contributed to this report.
More from The Post:
Redskins still waiting on Griffin’s concussion clearance
Houston Bates leads next wave of players cut on Saturday
Akeem Davis among players cut by Redskins on Friday
Mike Jones’s 53-man roster projection, as of Friday morning
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