Oops: Redskins' Robert Griffin III opens camp without knee brace

Jim Corbett | USA TODAY Sports

RICHMOND, Va. — Robert Griffin III tempted fate Thursday, but coach Mike Shanahan was able to laugh it off as a harmless faux pas when the second-year quarterback took his only snap of the morning walk-through without a vital piece of equipment: his protective right knee brace.

It's amazing alarm bells didn't sound across the new, $10-million Washington Redskins training-camp complex given the hyper focus on RG3's rehabilitation of the right knee that was surgically reconstructed in January.

Perhaps overeager to return to practice with his teammates for the first time since the operation, Griffin III took a read-option snap and carried out his play fake on a looping run on the first official day of training camp.

Griffin recognized his mistake, trotted to the sideline and quickly braced up, though he didn't take another snap in the hour-long session. He did return in the afternoon to complete seven of eight passes in an encouraging debut during which he looked fluid, explosive at times and threw with his signature precision.

When asked later about how the face of the franchise could take the field without protection on the knee that's created so much attention, Shanahan made light of a potentially catastrophic mistake.

"You just got him fined for not having his knee brace on. So I'm hoping you're very happy with yourself," Shanahan said in his dead-pan way. "That was somewhat of a joke."

Reporters laughed.

"No. He's supposed to do everything with a knee brace on. I'm not sure why he didn't have his knee brace on," Shanahan said.

One thing is certain: It won't happen again.

Shanahan was impressed by RG3's progress while watching the 10 snaps he took.

"He did a good job," the Redskins coach said. "That's our plan initially to put him through some football moves, see how he does.

"We plan on progressing every day like he did today."

And while Griffin said he was on board with Shanahan's plan to shut him down for the entire preseason Wednesday, the coach made it clear there is zero chance of him playing in meaningless games prior to Monday night's Sept. 9 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"It just doesn't make sense to play him in any preseason games," said Shanahan. "We'll get a chance to see when he's ready for possible team drills, more reps that come with time. ... We're going to try and get him in football shape. ... When that will occur, I can't tell you.

"It surely won't happen for two to three weeks. It does take some time to get back in football shape."

The initial prognosis for RG3's recovery was between seven to nine months. The opener versus the Eagles will mark eight months post-surgery.

"You can't take a chance of coming back too soon," Shanahan says. "If you see his body improve and the confidence in his knee, than you give him more rope. ... When he's ready, we'll practice him at game-type tempo."

One Redskin who won't be back anytime soon is defensive end Adam Carriker, who suffered a season-ending torn quadriceps injury in Week 2 of last season. He underwent surgery Thursday following a recent setback in his rehabilitation.

"The doctors say it's anywhere from a four- to five-month recovery time," Shanahan said.

"It went as well as it possibly could."

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Follow Jim Corbett on Twitter @ByJimCorbett