LB Washington Is Out With a Sprained Ankle

Marcus Washington has a high-ankle sprain and will be out several weeks, the latest concern for the linebacker, who has struggled mightily this season.

Washington, who had a limited role in practice last week because of a shoulder injury, wore a boot yesterday at Redskins Park after hurting his ankle in a 14-10 loss to Dallas on Sunday night. He has missed two games this season because of hamstring problems that also hampered him last season.

"Stuff happens when you play this game," Washington said. "What matters is how you handle it." . . .

Coach Jim Zorn said RB Clinton Portis, ailing from a knee injury and various other bumps and bruises, is feeling better than he was entering last week coming off the bye.

Portis had to come out of the game a few times, as expected -- "He did start to wear down a little bit," Zorn said -- but Zorn said he believes Portis will be able to practice a bit this week.

Backup RB Ladell Betts aggravated his knee injury in the game, but "not so much that we think it's going to keep him out" of Sunday's game at Seattle, Zorn said. . . .

CB Shawn Springs, who was out against Dallas with a calf injury, is expected to play in Seattle, barring a setback. Springs was still not able to run fully Sunday night, and Zorn said there was some concern about whether Springs would be able to cover elite wide receivers after having been unable to extend himself fully in practice. . . .

DT Anthony Montgomery remains "50-50" for Sunday's game, still trying to overcome an Achilles' tendon injury.

The rest of the ailing Redskins, including T Chris Samuels and WR Santana Moss, are all slated to play against Seattle.

· J. TAYLOR ADJUSTING: DE Jason Taylor said his calf has fully healed, and he is making a mental adjustment to being a part-time player, at least for now. Taylor played primarily on third downs Sunday, and while he understands Demetric Evans has been playing well on the left side in front of him, he still aims to make more of an impact on the defense.

"I felt great all night [Sunday] night," Taylor said. "It's definitely the best I've felt since I've been up here. I wish I could have gave more to the team."

· DAVIS YET TO EARN TRUST: Rookie TE Fred Davis has not been on the field in games for more than a play or two, and Zorn chalked that up to a lack of trust. Specifically, if Davis can't remember when to run a pass route and when to block, it's hard for Zorn to use him consistently.

"It really is a matter of [Davis] doing his assignments correctly," Zorn said. "It's a trust factor. It's not a speed factor. It's not an ability factor. But it makes no sense for me to put a guy out there who can run real fast, but not going in the right direction. Or in some cases not even go out. It's not that he forgot, it's just that it didn't register."

-- Jason La Canfora and Jason Reid