Redskins make Minor Roster Moves

By 1niksder | December 22nd, 2010

If Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb doesn’t play in the final two games and coach Mike Shanahan has said he won’t, he’ll finish his 12th season in the league with 3,377 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. It marks the first season of his career that McNabb has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and his 77.1 passer rating is his worst since his rookie season. While McNabb served as the backup to Grossman last week, this week he’ll be relegated to the Redskins’ No. 3 quarterback spot. John Beck will be the team’s first option if Grossman goes down. McNabb said the timing of the benching on Thursday night, less than 72 hours before kickoff, felt “somewhat disrespectful,” he said his relationship with Shanahan has not suffered permanent damage. When asked if he wants to be traded or released, McNabb says, “No, I want to be here. I really do. …I don’t believe in starting something and not finishing.”

Roster Moves:

— Defensive end Phillip Daniels got his first start of the season on Sunday, before he aggravated an abdomen injury he suffered a week earlier against Tampa Bay. The Redskins did not know whether Daniels would require surgery or not but he will be placed on the season-ending injured reserve and will miss the final two games.

— Nose tackle Maake Kemoateu was placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday with a shoulder injury. Kemoeatu said he’ll meet with a doctor next Monday to determine whether he has a muscle tear and to decide whether he needs surgery. Coming off an Achilles injury that kept him out all of 2009, Kemoeatu started the Redskins first 13 games at NT and says he “definitely” plans to play football next season.

— The Redskins activated LB Rob Jackson from the practice squad to take the open roster space created by the Phillip Daniels injury. Jackson is a former defensive end who was selected in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft is too small to play DE in a 3-4 so he, has been moved to outside linebacker. Jackson wears number 50 and turned 25 last month. The Redskins also released offensive lineman Jacob Bender from the practice squad and replaced him with tackle Xavier Fulton, who was a fifth-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 2009. Defensive lineman Rashaad Duncan, who has spent time on the rosters of the Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills over the last two seasons, he will take Rob Jackson’s spot on the practice squad.

— The Redskins have brought back defensive lineman Darrion Scott to take Kemoeatu’s place on the 53-man roster. Scott, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, was with the Redskins in training camp. He was with the Vikings from 2004-07 and spent last season playing for Jim Haslett with the UFL’s Florida Tuskers.
Quotes and Notes:

— Linebacker Brian Orakpo who leads the Redskins’ defense with 8.5 sacks suffered hamstring and groin injuries in Sunday’s game. Coaches won’t know his status until Wednesday when the team returns to practice.

— Washington Redskins quarterback John Beck will be the primary backup for starter Rex Grossman during the Redskins’ final two games, and Donovan McNabb will be the third-string quarterback or inactive the against the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants.

— Head coach Mike Shanahan said he was pleased with how quarterback Rex Grossman managed the pace of the game and the rhythm he established on offense. His knowledge of the offense was evident in the passing game. “Rex is very familiar with the terminology of the offense which gives him the ability to throw things out there a little bit quicker than other quarterbacks would,” Shanahan said.

— Quarterback Rex Grossman threw only three passes that traveled more than 21 yards on Sunday, he completed a 47-yarder to wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, he was 3-of-4 for 32 yards on passes that went 6-10 yards, he was 5-of-6 for 110 yards on passes in the 16-20 yard range, Seven completions came at or behind the line of scrimmage and another nine catches came in the 1-5-yard range of the line. The Redskins had 148 post-catch yards. “He got it to us and it was our job to do the rest,” WR Santana Moss said, whose first three receptions were caught behind the line.

— Cornerback Kevin Barnes was forced into action when safety Reed Doughty departed in the first half with a head injiury. Kareem Moore was the only remaining healthy safety on the roster, forcing Barnes’ move from cornerback. “They told me to be ready to play at safety,” he said. “I didn’t know what happened to Reed but I made sure I made all my tackles and did all I could. … In the off-season, I took a lot of pride in learning the defense so I felt comfortable out there.”

— Safety LaRon Landry may not be headed to his first Pro Bowl in 2010. Becauce he was placed on season-ending injured reserve last week, his name won’t appear on the ballots circulated this week to coaches and players. According to the most recent numbers Landry had 174,625 votes well ahead of Arizona’s Adrian Wilson, with 91,192 votes, but without any support from coaches or his fellow players, Landry will more than likely be left off the NFC squad.

— Washington’s defense allowed over 400 yards for the fifth time this year during Sunday’s 33-30 loss, raising its average to 397.6 yards. Only two NFL teams since 1983 have surrendered more yards per game during the course of a full season. While switching to a 3-4 defensive front to increase team turnovers the unit recorded 19 takeaways during the first eight games, winning four of them, but it has recorded only five during the last six games, five of which were losses.

— Safety Macho Harris, who hasn’t played since being signed last month, or cornerback Kevin Barnes might have to start Sunday at strong safety if, Reed Doughty, can’t return in time from the concussion he suffered in Sunday’s game. 

— The Redskins’ newly acquired punter Sam Paulescu struggled in Sunday’s 33-30 loss, he punted four times and posted a overall average of 39.5 and a net average of 26.0, he had a poorly kicked 30-yard punt in the second quarter.

— Last week the Redskins couldn’t practice on their natural grass fields because, the fields were frozen on Wednesday, and they were covered with snow on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They practiced on it’s old Astroturf field on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but on Thursday, with it snowing, the Redskins had to practice on the basketball court of a nearby gym. Inclement weather has forced the Redskins to practice off-site and or miss full-contact reps four times this season. During the offseason the Redskins will have heat coils installed beneath the turf of one of the practice fields, and also will have a practice bubble built. Washington is one of ten NFL teams without an indoor practice facility.   Shanahan didn’t give a timetable on Monday for new digs. He says the heated field is the first priority. 

— Safety Reed Doughty said he may have suffered the concussion on the first play of the game. He continued to play but he “didn’t feel right” as the game progressed. “It just got worse, so I came out, I wasn’t knocked out or anything like that, but at the same time we want to be cautious, I have a chance to come back this week, but we’ll just take it day by day.” Doughty said.

Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Bernie Marshall