Kyle Shanahan has admitted that he is "pretty disappointed" that the Washington Redskins have decided to bench Robert Griffin III for the remainder of the 2013 NFL season.

Head coach Mike Shanahan confirmed earlier this week that Kirk Cousins would take over as starter for the final three games of the campaign as the NFC East side are already out of playoff contention, allowing Griffin to rest and avoid injury.

However, the offensive coordinator, who is also the head coach's son, told reporters: "I'm pretty disappointed we don't get to play with him, but it is what is, and I'm going to play with the cards I've been dealt.

"I think they made a decision, 'What's the best for the future of the organisation?' And they don't want to happen to [Griffin] next year what happened this year. It's really, really tough when a guy, especially in his situation, misses an entire off-season and that's the way they feel about it.

"I think it will be good for Robert to get the reps, that's my opinion of it from 100% a football standpoint, but I do understand they have concerns that I don't think about as much."

Griffin missed the pre-season while recovering from knee ligament surgery in January, but has not missed any regular season games.