The routine is pretty much the same every day for cornerback Cedric Griffin: Practice ends and he goes to work.
Griffin pushing hard to return
Cornerback is recovering from ACL surgery
By chipscoggins
Griffin remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from ACL surgery. Griffin torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee covering a kickoff in overtime of the NFC Championship game last January.
That injury typically requires six to nine months of rehab. Griffin is not allowed to practice with the team while he's on the PUP so he does one-on-one drills with defensive backs coach Joe Woods every day after practice.
Griffin does drills for about 30 minutes and pushes himself extremely hard. Media members watched him Friday at Winter Park and it's clear Griffin is doing everything in his power to get back on the field.
Coach Brad Childress said last week that Griffin is progressing "rapidly" and indicated he might be close to coming off the PUP.
"I feel pretty good," Griffin said. "I do my drills after practice all the time just to get more confidence. I'm getting stronger out there. I feel good."
Griffin said he'll leave when he comes off the PUP up to the coaches and athletic training staff. He probably would need several weeks of practice to get ready to play in a game. It seems likely that he will miss a few games but he's clearly pushing hard to get back on the field. "I feel like I'm ready to go," he said. "Whenever they let me go, I feel I can go out and make plays." Woods puts Griffin through a number of different cornerback drills that require him to backpedal, stop and start quickly, and cut and change direction. "I feel I'm cutting the same as before my surgery," Griffin said. "I'm coming out with power. I'm getting positive feedback and I'm happy with my progress."
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Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.