Did Jay Gruden leave RG3 in there to get hit?

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden raised some eyebrows this week when he said he would have played quarterback Robert Griffin III more than he did on Thursday night. 

That is, had he not left the field concussed. 

Washington would defeat Detroit 21-17 that night behind reserves Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins, but the violent nature in which their presumed starter was handled, and the incompetence of the first-team offensive line to protect for him, got all the attention.

Gruden's squad until that point could only muster 10 yards and Griffin was smacked on six of the eight times he dropped back (briefly) for a pass. 

"We need the work," he said Thursday night. "We absolutely need the work whether he takes one shot or 10 shots. We have to get our offense going."

But some found themselves questioning whether Gruden, a man who hasn't been shy with his negative opinions of his passer, left him in there to get mauled for personal reasons. 

Including an anonymous NFL head coach.

"That Lions front, even without [Ndamukong] Suh, is pretty ferocious," the coach told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. "As a coach, you see your guys getting beat, and you see your quarterback especially take that first shot, every coach I know would have taken their quarterback out of the game."

Griffin going out for a fifth series with his injury history is something that stood out to him.

"What is baffling is that I can't think of a single head coach in the NFL who would take an injury-prone quarterback, put him behind a very shaky offensive line, in a preseason game, watch him take those kinds of hits, and leave him in the game. It looks personal to me."

Words that have the same effect on Gruden as a coach as did the injury a physical effect on his quarterback. Griffin was diagnosed with a concussion and shoulder stinger after he was pummelled in an effort to recover his unforced fumble.

Pending a neurologist's approval, Griffin is expected to start on Aug. 29 when the Redskins play their third exhibition game at the Ravens, another stout defensive side with able pass rushers against whom Jay Gruden wants to set his fragile quarterback.