Rough Start, Big Finish

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Redskins Training Camp

The Redskins dive into preparations for the upcoming season.

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"And from a leadership standpoint, he's someone who has been in this game a long time. He's seen a lot, and he's accomplished a lot. I don't know him, but hopefully he's the type of guy who's going to want to come in and help the young players, such as myself. Anyway you look at it, it's a great move."

Taylor had 11 sacks last season -- more than any Redskin -- and has had at least 8 1/2 sacks every season this decade. He has missed just four games since entering the NFL in 1997, and had spent his entire career with the Dolphins after being selected in the third round of the draft.

The loss of Daniels, in his 13th NFL season and starting his fifth with Washington, sent an emotional ripple through the locker room. Daniels, 35, is a key leader and had worked hard, with among other things a rigorous power-lifting regimen, this offseason to try to stave off nagging injuries. Role player Demetric Evans moved into Daniels's starting role during practice -- Evans has started 12 games for Washington since 2004 -- with the roster very thin beyond him and Carter, who is the only lineman with established pass rushing skills on the roster.

Daniels leaped awkwardly during the first snap of seven-on-seven drills in the morning practice -- the Redskins wore shells and shorts yesterday and were not in full-contact with pads -- and remained on the ground for several minutes before being carted off. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo career-threatening surgery Friday.

Buzbee, a Georgetown product who showed promise on the practice squad last season, ruptured his right Achilles' while backpedaling during drills early in the afternoon, capping a highly unusual start to Jim Zorn's first training camp as an NFL head coach. The Redskins plan to bring back recently cut rookie defensive end J.T. Mapu to fill Buzbee's roster spot, Cerrato said.

"It's hard to predict," Zorn said. "We'll have to deal with it. There's just nothing we could discuss to say, 'What if we'd done this [in practice] or done that?' "

Zorn and Cerrato said they had no regrets about not bolstering the defensive line more in the offseason, passing on a bevy of trade possibilities (including a call from Miami offering Taylor), and not taking a lineman in the draft until the seventh round -- Washington has not used a first- or second-round pick on a defensive lineman since 1997. Adding Carter has been the only notable improvement made to the unit since Coach Joe Gibbs overhauled the roster in 2004, though numerous NFL executives believe it to be an area of strong concern for the organization and thought the team would take a pass rusher early in April's draft.

"When you're picking, there's got to be somebody that you want to take there," Cerrato said. "You just don't take somebody to take somebody to fill a spot. We would have loved to have a defensive end been there at [pick] 21 that we loved." (Washington passed on Clemson end Phillip Merling in that spot and took pass catchers with all three second-round picks).

The Redskins traded a conditional seventh-round pick to Minnesota for former first-round pick Erasmus James in May, but he is recovering from major knee surgery and has a history of serious knee problems. James is working out individually with the team's athletic trainers and hopes to be able to practice early next month. "Everything feels good, it's just a matter of time," said James, whose status likely will remain murky for quite some time.

"He may not be ready to even get in a game until the last couple of preseason games," Zorn said, "and that's if his knee responds well."

Second-year speed rusher Chris Wilson is next on the depth chart behind Evans, but he is trying to add the heft and technique necessary to be an every-down end, bulking up in hopes of being able to play against the run.

"They want me to make sure I'm strong, but also make sure I keep my athleticism, and I did that," said Wilson, who is seven pounds heavier than a year ago.

The defensive linemen were particularly emotional about the loss of Daniels. Zorn spent some time with Daniels, who did not immediately return messages, and his wife between practices yesterday and said the veteran felt "miserable." Cerrato called the injury "a travesty."

"We're as close as anybody on this team," Griffin said of Daniels. "My heart goes out to him. It's a big loss, but now someone else has to step up."