Hightower out for year; Moss to miss five to seven weeks
ASHBURN — Tim Hightower hobbled to the middle of the locker room following Sunday’s loss at Carolina and delivered an emotional speech, imploring his teammates not to quit. Unfortunately for the Redskins, Hightower’s impact for the rest of the season will be through speeches and not actions.
Hightower suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee in the 33-20 loss at Carolina, becoming the third Redskins player to suffer such a fate this season.
That’s bad enough for an offense that hasn’t scored more than 20 points since Week 2. But that wasn’t all: Receiver Santana Moss had three pins inserted in his left hand near his index finger and will be sidelined five to seven weeks, according to coach Mike Shanahan.
| Notes |
| » Linebacker London Fletcher‘s hamstring is not “that serious,” coach Mike Shanahan said. However, there won’t be any update on Fletcher’s status until later in the week. Fletcher has started 198 consecutive games and appeared in 214 straight. “He does everything it takes to get on that field,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “It’s hard to imagine going out there and playing without him.” |
| » Free safety Kareem Moore will start practicing this week, but the Redskins have two weeks to decide whether they will activate him off the physically unable to perform list. Starter Oshiomogho Atogwe did not play Sunday after not practicing all week. Atogwe said he knew Saturday he would be unable to go. His status for this week is uncertain. |
| » Quarterback Rex Grossman will be hospitalized for the next two days because of pneumonia. Grossman stayed in the locker room Sunday at Carolina because of the illness. |
This comes one week after the Redskins lost three starters to injuries: guard Kory Lichtensteiger (out for the season with a knee injury), tackle Trent Williams (ankle sprain, out for at least two more weeks) and tight end Chris Cooley (broken finger, out at least a month).
“I don’t think I’ve ever lost this many on one side so quickly,” Shanahan said.
And the Redskins have gone from 3-1 and dreaming of contention to 3-3 and trying to hold on. They play 4-2 Buffalo on Sunday and 5-1 San Francisco the following week.
The Redskins have been in this predicament in the past; the results haven’t always been good.
“This is a different group,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “It’s not a group that will hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves. We’ll bounce back.”
Losing Hightower hurts, particularly when it comes to pass protection. He was the Redskins’ best all-around back, though perhaps not their most dynamic runner. Hightower finished with 321 yards, averaging 3.8 yards a carry.
“Any time you lose a player that has the type of energy that Tim does and has the type of game that he has, obviously everybody is disappointed,” Shanahan said. “You could see how emotional he was in that game and how well he blocked and how hard he ran. It’s always tough to lose a guy like that.”
The Redskins could opt to fill his roster spot with Evan Royster, the Westfield High School graduate currently on their practice squad. Ryan Torain and Roy Helu will get the bulk of the work regardless of who joins the roster.
Both Helu and Torain have improved in protection. And both players say they will apply lessons learned from Hightower.
“I’m learning how to read defenses better and get a better feel for what the coaches want on the field,” Torain said.
Helu said Hightower talked to him often about attacking defenders in protection and “really putting your body in front of them.” The two also talked about how to press the hole in the stretch zone system.
Meanwhile, Shanahan said he will replace Moss with more than one receiver. Anthony Armstrong and rookie Niles Paul both played there Sunday, and Terrence Austin can play this spot as well. All three played after Moss was hurt in the second quarter Sunday.
Moss was second on the team with 25 receptions for 301 yards. Of the Redskins’ 2,064 yards thus far, 768 have come from the sidelined players.
“We have a lot of young guys that we’re going to get a chance to see how much talent they do have,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully they can improve, and hopefully it’s quick.”
