Washington Redskins star wide receiver DeSean Jackson missed the remainder of Sunday's season opener against the Miami Dolphins after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said after the game that Jackson will undergo an MRI on the hamstring. The Dolphins beat the Redskins 17-10.

Jackson suffered the injury on the first play of the Redskins' second series, when he ran a deep route on an overthrow by quarterback Kirk Cousins.
DeSean Jackson, who missed the entire preseason with a shoulder injury, was knocked out of Sunday's season opener with a hamstring injury. Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

"Any time you lose a guy that runs a 4.25 40, it damages some of your play-action game," Gruden said. "The first one we threw to him, he had a step [on the corner] and I believe he would have caught it if he didn't pull his hammy.

"It's a great throw by Kirk, and that's the last we saw of him -- and we had another seven or eight [plays] built in to clear out and get DeSean across the field. It was a big loss for us."

The Redskins initially listed Jackson as questionable to return before eventually downgrading him. With Jackson sidelined, the Redskins lose their best deep-ball target. Second-year receiver Ryan Grant replaced him in three-receiver sets but lacks the deep speed to threaten defenses. Jackson led the NFL with 13 catches for 40 or more yards last season.

Washington coach Jay Gruden insists that he still has hopes for Robert Griffin III, even though he made Griffin a backup to Kirk Cousins — and even though Gruden won’t say whether Griffin will be the second-string or third-string quarterback this season.

Gruden said today that he’s optimistic Griffin will get medical clearance to play this week. The team has been holding Griffin out since saying he suffered a concussion in the second preseason game.

“He’s got to see the independent neurologist one more time early this week,” Gruden said.

Once Griffin is healthy enough to play, Gruden says, he’ll have a role on the 53-man roster.

“We feel like he’s a quarterback that’s young and talented that’s done some good things,” Gruden said.

The story summed it up well, saying while Gruden might see some talent in Griffin, he’s unwilling to commit to putting Griffin ahead of Colt McCoy on the depth chart. Gruden said that determination won’t be made until the doctors clear Griffin to play. If Griffin is behind McCoy on the depth chart once the medical clearance comes, that’s a strong sign that no matter what Gruden says publicly, privately he simply doesn’t believe Griffin is good enough.

The Washington Redskins plan to keep Robert Griffin III as their backup quarterback and will not release him ahead of Saturday's roster deadline, multiple sources have confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter and John Keim.

Although Kirk Cousins was named Washington's starting quarterback earlier this week, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and president Bruce Allen want to keep Griffin despite the financial risk associated with retaining the former Heisman Trophy winner, a source told ESPN.

Griffin, who has been sidelined since Aug. 20 with a concussion, was scheduled to consult with an independent neurologist Friday. The Redskins still are awaiting word on the results of that exam. There continues to be a struggle, it seems, between ownership and the coaches on what to do with RG3, as it's long been thought the coaches just want to part ways.

The Redskins have decided to go with Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback for Week 1, per a report from ESPN. The news follows a series of conflicting reports yesterday about Robert Griffin III's future in Washington. Cousins started in last Saturday's preseason game against the Ravens. After a shaky start, he finished 20 for 27 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Related Players: DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon

As we stated yesterday, there are reports ownership is resisting moving on from RG3 while the coaches are ready, so things could get ugly. Cousins owns a career 7.4 YPA, but posted 8.4 YPA last season, along with a 10:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. As we also added, DeSean Jackson's numbers remained pretty much the same with Cousins under center while Pierre Garcon's production increased significantly. He averaged 4.2 catches for 53 yards and 0.5 TD in the six games that Cousins played last season. Those are high-end fantasy WR3 numbers. Both Cousins and Colt McCoy were having pretty good camps.

According to the report, front office officials and coaches are prepared to move on from Robert Griffin III but they are meeting resistance from ownership. There have been trade talks involving Griffin but there has been no interest.

But, in any case, it appears that Griffin’s time as the starting quarterback here is near an end. According to the report, from Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini, there is a “groundswell of support from a strong segment of football people within the organization to change quarterbacks.”

In terms of either trading or releasing Griffin, they are meeting resistance from owner Daniel Snyder. It is uncertain if coach Jay Gruden, general manager Scot McCloughan, and others in the football part of the operation have the authority to remove Griffin from the roster against Snyder’s wishes.

Related Players: Kirk Cousins, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson

It's going to be an ugly divorce, especially if owner Daniel Snyder is not on board. Kirk Cousins owns a career 7.4 YPA, but posted 8.4 YPA last season, along with a 10:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The sample size is small (six games), but DeSean Jackson's numbers remained pretty much the same with Cousins under center while Pierre Garcon's production increased significantly. He averaged 4.2 catches for 53 yards and 0.5 TD in the six games that Cousins played last season. Those are high-end fantasy WR3 numbers.

Sources say the Redskins' plan is not only to start Kirk Cousins tonight in Baltimore, but also Week 1 against Miami.

Related Players: Robert Griffin III

Cousins owns a career 7.4 YPA, but posted 8.4 YPA last season, along with a 10:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The sample size is small (six games), but DeSean Jackson's numbers remained pretty much the same with Cousins under center while Pierre Garcon's production increased significantly. He averaged 4.2 catches for 53 yards and 0.5 TD in the six games that Cousins played last season. Those are high-end fantasy WR3 numbers.

It is becoming apparent that the No. 2 quarterback in Washington will have a good shot at becoming No. 1 at some point during the season.

It’s not too much of a stretch to concoct a doom and gloom scenario for Robert Griffin III. Watching him on Thursday against the Lions and throughout his career since 2013, it seems almost inevitable that his season will be interrupted by either injury or ineffectiveness. That means that the winner of the competition for the No. 2 quarterback job is likely to start some regular season games and perhaps sooner rather than later.

So who is the leader in that competition between Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy? Jay Gruden said during training camp that performance in preseason games would be the primary determining factor. If there is a leader in the battle, Gruden has not tipped his hand to reveal which one it is.

“They’re doing extremely well,” said Gruden of the play of the two backups during the preseason.

The story went on to say throughout OTAs, minicamp and training camp, Cousins and McCoy have split the work with the second and third teams about as evenly as you can. Cousins has completed 77 percent of his passes averaging 9.4 yards per attempt while McCoy is completing passes at a 75 percent clip and also averaging 9.4 yards per pass. Both have been behind center for seven drives. Cousins has had better results, with the team scoring three touchdowns and a field goal with him in the game while McCoy’s possessions have resulted in two touchdowns, the story all said. As you can see, things are pretty close. It's a situation to pay attention to especially if you play in deeper leagues or leagues that start two QBs.