Heyer, Williams and Bridges vying for job
ASHBURN – The Redskins knew Jon Jansen wasn’t the answer. That doesn’t mean they’ve answered the question.
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And so begins the quest to replace Jansen as the starting right tackle, a spot he held down for most of the past decade. For now, Stephon Heyer will work with the first unit. But the two key words in that sentence are this: For now. Because Mike Williams or Jeremy Bridges could sneak past him.
“That’s been the biggest question mark for me,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. “I didn’t think it was locked down by Jon at the end of the season. I’ve told all those guys that this position is legitimately open.”
The old saying about quarterbacks is that if you have three, then you don’t have one. Could that be the case at right tackle with Washington?
“We’re going to be OK,” said line coach Joe Bugel. “We’ve finally got some depth there.”
In this case, each of the three players vying for the job brings their own set of pros and cons.
Heyer, entering his third year, did improve with his drive-blocking last year, but needs to do a better job anchoring against the rush and with his combination blocks as well as getting to linebackers. But coaches have said he’s gotten stronger in his lower body.
“He’s bigger, tougher,” Bugel said.
“Stephon is light years away from when he first came to the Redskins,” left tackle Chris Samuels said.
And Heyer has an edge with three years experience in this run-blocking scheme. It’s his job to lose.
“Nothing’s guaranteed,” he said. “I’m not awarded anything until I start that first game of the season.”
Williams might be the most intriguing, if only because he hasn’t played since 2005 because of injuries. But he’s a former fourth-overall pick in the draft (2002). He now weighs 380 pounds, about 30 less than when Washington signed him in April.
“There’s some rust that he has to break up with the speed and the way he moves and the way he sets,” Zorn said. “He has the furthest to come, but he has tremendous talent.”
Meanwhile, Bridges could be a swing player, with his ability to play guard or tackle. He’s started 39 games in seven seasons, including 14 at right tackle in 2006.
“He has tremendous feet and a sense of toughness,” Zorn said.
Jansen, who signed with Detroit Friday, had that for the first five years of his tenure in Washington, until injuries affected him in the next five.
Zorn addressed the offensive linemen as a group about Jansen’s release before Monday’s OTA session.
“Jon was one of the smartest guys on the line,” said center Casey Rabach, his good friend. “He understood a lot of what was going on. I make all the calls, but he fed me information. You lose that. He was the guy who had been around forever who knows everything and has seen everything.”
