Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III says claims by Mike Shanahan that he told his former coach what plays to run are false.
Shanahan, who coached the Redskins from 2010 to 2013, told ESPN 980 in February that Griffin started mentioning "what plays were acceptable and unacceptable" following his rookie season. Griffin was asked about Shanahan's comments during a recent appearance on "Redskins Nation."
"The urban legend, right?" Griffin told host Larry Michael, Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post reports. "Actually, just like any coach-quarterback combination, we had healthy conversations about everything, evolving as a player. There's a lot of dark things that are talked about with Mike and Kyle (Shanahan) and those things, but it was never a wholesale, 'This is what we're gonna run, this is what we're not gonna run' (demand).
"You know, I'm a player," Griffin continued. "I'm here to play. As we like to say, I just work here. Open discussion. Coaches get to call the plays, and players have to run them."
Griffin found success under Shanahan as a rookie, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. The two seasons that followed saw Griffin battle injury and inconsistency, though, and the Redskins continue to hold out hope that he'll be able to return to his 2012 form.
