Cooley, who was released by the Redskins before the season, passed a physical Monday and re-signed with the team. He took the roster spot of tight end Fred Davis, who was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list after suffering a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon during Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. Davis is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday and faces a rehabilitation of five to six months, Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday.
The Redskins lost this season’s leader in receiving yards and catches in Davis and have been playing without Pierre Garcon, the wide reciever signed as a free agent in March to give quarterback Robert Griffin III a speedy and reliable pass catcher. Garcon has missed four of seven games this season because of a foot injury.
The Redskins have remained a potent offense largely because of Griffin and tailback Alfred Morris. Veteran wide receiver Santana Moss provided two touchdown catches against the Giants. But the Redskins need someone to emerge in their receving group, and are crossing their fingers that Cooley has enough left to help out.
“Any time you lose a guy like Fred,” Shanahan said, “it’s always tough. . . . I thought he was having a heck of a year. Fred’s really disappointed because he was excited about himself, his play. We’re excited about him. But like all injuries, guys have got to step up and play at a high level. . . .
“We’ll have Chris come in, knowing the system. We expect him to play at the level that he’s played at in the past. Now guys get more of an opportunity to show us what they can do.”
The Redskins also have tight ends Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul on the roster. Paulsen played well Sunday after Davis was hurt. Paulsen had four catches for 76 yards against the Giants.
In Cooley, the Redskins are bringing back the franchise’s career leader in catches by a tight end. He had a 77-catch season as recently as two years ago and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his eight seasons with the Redskins. But Cooley, 30, had only eight catches in five games in 2011 before his season was ended by knee and finger injuries.
He worked his way back and said during training camp that his knee felt fine. But much of his playing time during preseason games came at fullback, not tight end, and the Redskins said when they released him that they were allowing him to seek a starting opportunity with another team. But the Redskins never ruled out re-signing him and Shanahan said he called Cooley late Sunday after the team’s return from East Rutherford, N.J.
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