It’s an NFL player’s nightmare. What could be worse than being hurt during the first practice on the first day of training camp? Especially at a training camp taking place for the first time in a state-of-the-art facility the first time the team has been away for a camp in such a long, long time?
This is the nightmare that Washington Redskins’ second-year man Keenan Robinson is living. The linebacker suffered a torn left pectoral muscle and is out for the season. It is particularly tough for the former Texas Longhorn because he injured the same muscle on his right shoulder last season.
At first, head coach Mike Shanahan wasn’t sure how badly his player was hurt.
“You know, I really don’t know,” Shanahan said when asked the status of his player at his presser Thursday. “He’s having an MRI. We’ll see how it is. It was not his shoulder he had surgery on. It was the other shoulder. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”
But the now coach knows it’s serious although he has said he will wait to put Robinson on the Reserve/Injured list until after his surgery. It is assumed that the linebacker will be out for the season though no one knows for sure (look at Griffin’s recovery).
“It’s really hard to say” Shanahan said about how long his player will be away from the game. “When you take a look at ‘Rak [linebacker Brian Orakpo] last year, was it seven, eight months recovery time? Probably. You take a look at Keenan, probably in that same area. I’ve heard people maybe in a three-month time frame getting back. That’s the earliest I’ve ever heard of. Most of the situations I’ve been around is in the seven, eight month area. Optimistically, could it be three months? Could it be five months? There’s a chance, but when I take a look at ‘Rak and I took a look at Keenan, it took some time – and very similar injuries to what ‘Rak had last year.”
This is really a shame because the team had thought Robinson might compete to play backup to Pro Bowl inside linebacker London Fletcher and up-and-coming young player, Perry Riley. Robinson showed some real promise before he was injured during the game against the Dallas Cowboys in November.
Football is such a violent game.
Hail.
Diane Chesebrough is Chief Editor, writer and photographer for SportsJourney Broadcast Network. Accredited media with the NFL, she has been a feature writer for several national magazines/periodicals. Follower her on Twitter: @DiChesebrough