The injuries keep mounting along the offensive line for the Washington Redskins.
Two days after their 7-6 preseason-opening victory over Buffalo, the team returned to the practice field, but did so without starting left tackle Trent Williams, or Maurice Hurt, who has stepped in at left guard with starter Kory Lichtensteiger recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said that Williams will miss time with a bone bruise in his left foot, and that Hurt is suffering from an inflamed tendon behind his left knee.
Williams said Thursday night that he injured his left foot 14 plays into the Buffalo game. On that play, Williams was a lead blocker for wide receiver Pierre Garcon, who caught a screen, made a cut around Williams and went 20 yards for a touchdown. Williams said someone fell on his foot.
Williams and the Redskins’ starters were pulled from the game following that drive-capping play. Later during the game, Williams received X-rays on his foot, but the results came back negative. Williams walked with a significant limp as he headed for the team bus but said, “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
Two days later, Shanahan said the Redskins don’t know how long the left tackle will be sidelined.
“He’s pretty sore right now. We’ll have to play it day-by-day,” Shanahan said. “I know it’ll be a few days. It’s kind of wait and see right now.”
Hurt didn’t suffer an obvious injury in Thursday’s game. But Shanahan said that the inflamed tendon will likely sideline him at least for Monday’s practice as well. Hurt watched Saturday’s practice with a black compression stocking on his left leg. Williams wasn’t present.
With both sidelined, center Will Montgomery was left as the only starting lineman to practice Saturday.
Expected starting right tackle Jammal Brown has spent all of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, while Lichtensteiger had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee — the same in which he suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments last October — during the first week of training camp. And last week, right guard Chris Chester sprained his left ankle and missed Thursday’s game. He did some jogging on Saturday, but didn’t take part in practice.
Hurt had stepped in for Lichtensteiger, and Tyler Polumbus has held down the starting right tackle duties.
On Saturday, instead of Williams, it was Jordan Black who took over at left tackle. Rookie Josh LeRibeus lined up at left guard, fellow rookie Adam Gettis at right guard and Polumbus remained at right tackle.
Already, it is starting to feel like the 2011 season, when Washington was forced to use eight different combinations along the offensive line. But Shanahan appeared to take the latest injuries in stride on Saturday.
“You’re always disappointed when someone goes down, but it’s the nature of the game,” Shanahan said. “That’s why you need a little depth. We got a few in the draft, got a couple in free agency. So, we’ve got a little more depth than we did a year ago, and it’s a good thing we do.”
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