The Redskins Blog

Departed Redskins Say Goodbye To Fans

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The process to compose the final 53-man roster is always bittersweet, as quality players and people are left on the outside looking in.  It’s never personal, but a simple numbers game that determines how the roster is constructed.  Every coach and organization has their strategies, but at the end of the day, only 53 can stay.

Anthony Armstrong pretty much nailed the feeling for players:

This is easily the worst day in sports…—
Anthony Armstrong (@MrArmstrong13) September 03, 2011

@MrArmstrong13 agreed. One way or another it happens to everybody eventually—
Reed Doughty (@doughty37) September 03, 2011

For clarity’s sake, Armstrong and Doughty were speaking for everyone–both made the cut.

But for some of the Redskins that didn’t make it, there was nothing but positive sentiments for the Redskins fans: Read more »

Young Redskins Pledge To Step Their Game Up

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The life of an NFL rookie is never easy, and the odds of becoming a starter–much less a star in the league–are usually slim.  But for the 10 rookies and first-year players that made the cuts for the final 53-man-roster, ‘Day One of the NFL Life’ starts tomorrow.

A few young players tweeted their excitement after learning that they had secured a roster spot.

Some made varying pledges of hard work: Read more »

Youth Movement Sweeps The Redskins

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With Saturday’s roster cuts officially in the books, the Redskins are looking at a younger roster going into 2011.  The following players were officially waived as of Saturday night:

Isaac Anderson, wide receiver, Wisconsin

Selvish Capers, offensive tackle, West Virginia

Shaun Draughn, running back, North Carolina

Thaddeus Gibson, outside linebacker, Ohio State

Matt Gutierrez, quarterback, Idaho State

Chris Horton, safety, UCLA

Maurice Hurt, offensive guard, Florida

Reggie Jones, defensive back, Portland State

Clint Oldenburg, offensive tackle, Colorado State

Donovan Raiola, center, Wisconsin

Aldrick Robinson, wide receiver, SMU

Evan Royster, running back, Penn State

Anderson Russell, defensive back, Ohio State

Davonte Shannon, defensive back, Buffalo

Jeff Stehle, defensive end, Wisconsin

Doug Worthington, defensive end, Ohio State

Keiland Williams, running back, Louisiana State

Artis Hicks, offensive guard/tackle, Memphis

Horatio Benedict Blades, inside linebacker, Pittsburgh

Anthony Bryant, nose tackle, Alabama

Kellen Clemens, quarterback, Oregon

Tony Curtis, tight end, Portland State

Edgar Jones, outside linebacker, Southeast Missouri

Derek Schouman, tight end, Boise State

The Redskins also officially activated safety LaRon Landry from the P.U.P., and placed injured safety Kareem Moore on the P.U.P.  He will not be eligible for the active roster until following the sixth week of the regular season.

When head coach Mike Shanahan came to Washington, his task was to build a winner.  Using the 2011 NFL Draft and calculated moves in free agency, the Redskins have constructed a roster that is ready to compete for the long-term.

The roster composition this year stands in pretty sharp contrast to last season. Read more »

The Last Practice For Some Redskins

Given today’s official roster cuts, it was difficult to determine who was missing from practice due to injury and who was permanently excused from practice.  The team also did not need to make cuts official until after practice today, so some players suited up in the Burgundy and Gold for the last time.

Head coach Mike Shanahan is expected to clarify the situation shortly.

Here are some scenes from practice.  Now that the players are removed from the heat and two-a-day’s of training camp, players are starting to look crisp going into the last preseason game.  This is the last open practice before Thursday’s matchup against the Bucaneers.

Here is footage of the the receivers practicing routes below: Read more »

Roster Downsizing Starts Today

This morning’s open locker room had a rather somber atmosphere for anyone considered a “bubble player,” or “roster hopeful” (or their respective friends) this preseason.

This is the first day of roster cuts for all teams in the league, and the Redskins must go from 89 players (87 and two P.U.P.) down to 80.

Already at 11 a.m., there were three empty lockers around the room.

All of those cuts will become official this afternoon, but it’s certainly a part of the business that no one enjoys.

“I think that’s the hardest thing as a head coach is telling somebody that he’s not going to make your football team,” head coach Mike Shanahan said.  ”Regardless of if it’s going from 90 to 80 or to 53 and the practice squad, those are the tough days for a coach.”

Shanahan talked about the difficulty of making cuts this year in particular, given the lack of exposure to certain players.

“[The lack of evaluation time] does make it tougher,” he explained.  ”Even though you have 90, you don’t have those OTA days.  Those extra practice days help you get a good feel for everyone, but this is a little tougher than it has been in the past.”

Watch his full press conference below: Read more »

Colt Brennan Released

In the wake of the trade for quarterback John Beck, the Redskins have released third-year pro Colt Brennan.

Brennan was a fan-favorite and a blog favorite, and the temptation to do a full-on Fred Smoot-level retrospective post was strong. (Pineapples! The trainers doing Jazzercise!) But what seemed most apt at this point was this interview that Tanner Cooley conducted last preseason, just under a year ago.

Brennan was coming off a bad game in which he threw a costly interception, part of a preseason that was not living up to what he believed he could do. The post-game interview with the younger Cooley is much less guarded than most such interviews, where the interviewer is NOT a friend (and sorta peer) of the interviewee, and Brennan’s quotes from that night (as transcribed by Dan Steinberg) seem appropriate. They’re below the video, after the jump.

Read more »

Redskins Release Five, Including A Fan Favorite

The Redskins today announced the release of five guys: running backs Anthony Alridge and P.J. Hill, wide receivers Marko Mitchell and James Robinson, and defensive lineman Anthony Montgomery.

Mitchell has to be the biggest surprise on the list. He was a seventh-round draft choice last year who became a fan favorite during training camp and preseason, and seemed like a promising weapon for the offense of new coordinator Kyle Shanahan and head coach Mike Shanahan. Not to be, apparently.

Alridge is in a similar position: a guy whose main attribute was his blazing speed, he first broke into the league with Shanahan’s Broncos and seemed to be a prime beneficiary of the coach’s arrival in D.C. Again, not to be.

Montgomery joined the team as a fifth-round draft choice in 2006. In four seasons with the Redskins, he played in 42 games, with 22 starts. Montgomery saw action in seven contests last season, but seems to have not impressed the new coaching staff; his release goes a long way toward explaining the multiple acquisitions across the defensive line in recent weeks.

Hill was signed Dec. 30, 2009, and was inactive for the season finale. Robinson was signed to the Redskins’ practice squad on Dec. 8, 2009, and stayed there for the season’s final four weeks.

Read more »

Ryan Plackemeier Waived; Guy From Lindenwood Now the Only Redskins Punter

The punting drama just never stops at Redskins Park. Ryan Plackemeier was waived today, leaving recent futures contract signee Zac Atterberry as the Redskins only punter.

When Plackemeier arrived in relief of rookie Durant Brooks, he was notable mainly for his size; in fact, he described himself as “not too interesting.” He had a rough start punting for the Redskins, but seemed to have settled into something of a groove by the end of the season, including NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for Week 15.

Atterberry, on the other hand, is an undrafted free agent from NAIA school Lindenwood (it’s in Missouri) who spent last season’s training camp with the Chicago Bears. His listed weight is 186, which finishes off that particular avenue of amusement (and also means that the team has shed 61 pounds at the position, equivalent to an average nine year old boy).

I don’t know much else about Atterberry, but a YouTube video of his second NFL punt is after the jump, and it certainly seems promising enough. (Although it does make me wonder about his first NFL punt, and any subsequent NFL punts. Still, at least it’s something to generate some optimism.) Read more »