One move was expected; the other was not. And the latter could have lasting implications.
Washington placed tight end Chris Cooley on injured reserve, ending his season and, perhaps, his Redskins career. Washington also placed running back Tim Hightower on IR, two days after he tore his ACL in a 33-20 loss at Carolina.
They have not yet announced who will take their roster spots. They could promote rookie running back Evan Royster off the practice squad. They also could use one of the roster spots to activate safety Kareem Moore. He’ll start practicing this week and the Redskins have two weeks to decide if they want to activate him off the physically unable to perform list.
The wildly popular Cooley needed surgery last week to repair shattered bones in his left index finger, which would have caused him to miss at least a month. This past Friday, Cooley was upbeat as he spoke about the rest of the season.
But it’s his left knee that has caused his season to end. Cooley missed most of training camp because of issues with his knee. The problems flared up a couple weeks ago and he was checked out by team orthopedist, Dr. James Andrews. Cooley underwent an MRI and met with Andrews again Monday.
Cooley will turn 30 next July and missed nine games two years ago because of a broken ankle. He’ll end up missing 11 games this season. In his other six seasons, Cooley did not miss a game.
The Redskins like to use two tight ends so there’s always a chance Cooley could return. He’s under contract for next season at $3.8 million. His cap hit is approximately $6 million.
But Fred Davis has emerged as the No. 1 tight end and will be a free agent after the season. The Redskins also have Logan Paulsen and, if they wanted, could save money by cutting Cooley. Or he could redo his deal and return at a lower salary.
Cooley is fifth on the franchise’s all-time receptions list with 428, which is the most by a Redskins tight end. He’s ninth in receiving yards (4,703) and touchdowns (33). He’s appeared in 108 games with 101 starts since joining the Redskins as a third-round pick in 2004.
The Redskins have now placed three starters on IR, as guard Kory Lichtensteiger went on there last week. Also, receiver Santana Moss will miss five to seven weeks with a broken bone in his hand and linebacker London Fletcher has a bad hamstring, though it’s uncertain how much time he’ll miss. And safety Oshiomogho Atogwe is nursing a sore knee.
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