Redskins Promote Phillip Thomas to Active Roster, Cut Clifton Geathers
The Washington Redskins announced today that they have promoted safety Phillip Thomas to their active roster from the team’s practice squad and waived defensive end Clifton Geathers.
Thomas (6-0, 223) was originally selected by the Redskins in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He spent the 2013 season on the team’s Reserve/Injured list with a Lisfranc injury to his foot.
Geathers joined the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent on March 14, 2014.
Quotes from Coach Gruden on Friday
On what progression he has seen from quarterback Robert Griffin III since Wednesday:
“I think just the command of the game. He has done a good job. He has gone out there and thrown and done all the drills the right way. Missed a couple throws Wednesday but he made some great throws, made some good throws today. Each day we concentrate on different areas and different situations of the game, today was red zone, short yardage, goal line, so it was kind of a different period. We had a couple team drills, which he did good in. So, I think everything is checking out good. You know, last week was like a bonus week for him. He was pretty healthy last week and gave him an extra week to recover and this week I think he is good to go.”
On if Griffin III will have any designed runs early:
“Do you want me to just dial up my whole game plan for you guys? We plan on calling a game like we would if – we are going to have different style of plays for Robert. So, the game plan is what it will be. Everybody will just have to wait until Sunday to see the exciting game plan of the Washington Redskins with Robert Griffin III.”
On Griffin III translating what happens in practice to an actual game:
“Yeah, you just have to let him play through that. There have been a million players that have looked very good out on the practice field that haven’t really translated to the game field. But luckily for us Robert won a Heisman Trophy at Baylor, so we know he was a gamer in college and he was Rookie of the Year here his first year here, so we know he can play in games here. And then his second year, whatever happened, happened, but we have a pretty good indication that he is a very talented guy, obviously, from what he has accomplished in his career and we are just hoping to get him back to the from sooner than later. So will he make mistakes? Of course he will, everybody will. His will be magnified obviously because he is the quarterback but that won’t stop us from coaching him up and trying to get him to do right. The more he sees with the concepts that we are doing, with the drop backs, with the pressure and how he handles pressure in situations, the better he will get. That is why it is important for him to play, as soon as he is healthy. We feel like he is 100 percent healthy. We’ve got to get him ready and get him learning the position.”
On if there was an argument to be made for waiting until the Tampa Bay game for Griffin III to return:
“No. We waited a week. Dallas, he was champing at the bit to play. He felt like he was ready, healthy. We waited a week to get him ready. So, he’s had his time. He’s got his rehab. He’s going to play good defenses every week so for anybody to say Minnesota’s defense is better than Tampa Bay’s defense – they’ve got [Gerald] McCoy, they have got a good defense also. Minnesota’s got good players. There’s not a defensive team in the National Football League that’s going to take it easy on him, I promise you that. Everybody’s going to give him different challenges and he’s going to have to rise to the occasion – this week, next week, the week after. So, he’s got to be ready for everybody. But, there’s no easy team on our schedule that I have seen.”
On if Griffin III is synchronized with his receivers:
“Yeah, it’s close. We’ll see on game day when things speed up considerably. It’s easy in seven-on-seven and team drills, but we’ll see on game day. But, I feel good about [it]. Robert’s gone through these concepts during training camp and OTAs and all that stuff. We might have changed them up a little bit formationally or split-wise or what have you. I think he’s going to be fine, you know? Will he show some rust? Will he be perfect? No, but I think, like I said before, I think Robert at 100 percent gives us the best chance to win at the position Sunday.”
On if Griffin III had a better practice today than yesterday:
“Yeah, he did better today than he did yesterday. “
