With rookie Leonard Hankerson out for the rest of the season and Santana Moss and Niles Paul still sidelined, could Anthony Armstrong work his way back into the mix at wide receiver for the Washington Redskins?
Armstrong hopes so.
Last season, Armstrong recorded a catch in all 15 games that he played. He had at least 40 receiving yards in nine straight games and 11 contests total. But this season, he has only five catches for 47 yards.
Armstrong wasn’t targeted on any pass plays while on the field. New addition David Anderson served as the team’s third receiver and received significant playing time despite going through only a week of practice with the Redskins.
But a lot of that had to do with the fact that Anderson plays the slot receiver position while Armstrong lines up on the outside the majority of the time.
“[Anderson] plays a different position,” Shanahan explained. “The position is what we call the inside slot position. Totally different type of position — how you set up routes, how you run routes. The outside position is more of a speed route. That’s what Hankerson was playing. So when you bring in a guy like David Anderson, he’s more of a guy like Santana Moss, being able to beat defensive backs one-on-one.”
Armstrong admitted some surprise that he had such a small role in the team’s offensive gameplan. But generally an upbeat person, he made it clear that while he’d like to be on the field catching passes, he would be content just to offer some sort of contribution to a victory.
“I just need to see what I can do to help the team win. Even if it meant me not playing, I just want to find a way to help the team win,” Armstrong said. “I’m trying to be selfless and find a way to help us win. If it’s being uplifting to [Hankerson, who is done for the season], and all the guys playing in front of me, then so be it. If it’s covering more kicks, so be it. If I’ve got to hold kicks, I’ll do that, too. So I just want to be able to get a win.”
