Josh Morgan says he played final weeks with torn hand ligaments

Josh Morgan played the end of the season with torn ligaments in both hands. (USATI)

Faced with a third-and-11 early in the third quarter on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys, Robert Griffin III fired a pass into a tight window to Josh Morgan on a slant to defeat zone coverage from Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins.

With soft hands, the Redskins' fifth-year receiver easily hauled in the reception and nearly gained a first down. The catch was one of five Morgan had on six targets in the critical victory.

Looking back on the Redskins' season, Morgan's ho-hum performance could be viewed in a different context considering he reportedly tore two ligaments in his hand four days earlier against the Eagles. The injury came months after Morgan suffered the same injury to his other hand in the season opener vs. the Saints. For the final weeks of the regular season Redskins' trainers taped Morgan's hands like a boxer, the team's leading receiver in 2012 said via The Washington Post.

Last month, Morgan underwent surgery on his hands to repair the torn ligaments. During the same week, Morgan had a plate and seven screws removed from his surgically repaired right ankle, according to The Post. Morgan suffered a fractured ankle in 2011 in his final season with the 49ers.

“Basically, the whole year, I was playing with two torn ligaments in both hands,” Morgan told The Post. “So they corrected that and got all that stuff straight.”

Before the injury against the Eagles, Morgan had a catch rate of 69.5 percent on 32 receptions in his first 10 games of 2012. Over the Redskins' final six games of the regular season, the rate dipped to 59.2 percent.

Morgan has yet to be cleared for running drills, according to The Post. He is still unsure if he will return in time for OTAs in May.

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