AP

According to the Redskins, quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a concussion against the Lions last night during a performance that saw him get tossed around like a rag doll behind an offensive line that was overwhelmed time and again by Detroit’s defensive front.

With Griffin diagnosed with a concussion, he’ll need to go through the league’s concussion protocol before he’s cleared to take part in practice or play in a game. That process takes a while, but it seems someone is pretty confident that Griffin’s time out of the lineup will be short.

Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports that a source tells him the concussion is not believed to be severe, which is a pretty big judgment to make when the process of moving through the tests required by the protocol has barely started. Britt McHenry of ESPN reports, via a Redskins source, that Griffin is “fine” and both reporters say he could play in next Saturday’s game against the Ravens.

That could happen, but any predictions that it will happen should wait until Griffin has at least gotten the green light to return to practice. The same is true of labeling a concussion “severe” since we’ve learned enough about head injuries to know that’s an imprecise designation at the very least.

Griffin’s status for next Saturday isn’t the only question the Redskins will face about Griffin. They’ll also be asked about the decision to keep him in for four series despite the lack of protection, something that an unnamed player on the team told Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports should have prompted the team to pull him well before he wound up getting hurt.