1. Quarterback John Beck was kept out of full-team work because of his groin and his availability for Friday’s game vs. Pittsburgh is now in question. However, Beck told reports afterward that he’s expecting to play.
Beck was able to throw during individual and some group drills. But they did not want to put him in a situation where he had to execute bootlegs or rollouts.
“That’s my plan,” he said. “I plan on going. Hopefully each day it gets better and better so that I can. But that’s my plan.
“It’s tricky because you don’t want to let the competitive side of you get you in there when maybe you shouldn’t be in there and something could happen and it lingers.”
Just know that it’s every player’s plan to play. However, there’s no way he would know at this point if he’ll be available. So this will be worth monitoring throughout the week. Coach Mike Shanahan said he won’t make a decision on anyone’s status until Wednesday.
Of Beck, Shanahan said, “If he can’t roll out, chances are he won’t play.”
2. Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan returned to full practice for the first time since the opening day of camp, jumping right back in with the starters. He said he didn’t feel that lost because he’d spent a lot of time with linebackers coach Lou Spanos and taking mental reps during the practices he missed.
Still, he needs all the work he can get transitioning from end to linebacker.
“It’s a whole different animal from end. You’re talking about coming out of a two-point stance vs. a three-point stance,” he said. “I’m still working on doing that and getting my stance right so I can be explosive off the line and of course the coverage factor.”
How ready can he be to play Friday?
“I have to be ready, I have no choice,” Kerrigan said.
3. Tight end Chris Cooley and wide receiver Brandon Banks both returned after missing time because of knee issues. Cooley had missed practice three straight days while Banks had missed four consecutive days of work.
“It’s still a little sore, but I’m just trying to get back into shape,” Banks said. “[My speed] is not quite all the way, but I’m getting there.”
Banks said he’s motivated by doubts about what he can do in his second year.
“Of course, I’m using it as motivation,” he said. “I like it when they doubt me…When you make a difference, there’s always haters.”
4. Safety O.J. Atogwe did not practice because of a sore hamstring. He said he’s not sure if he’ll be able to practice Tuesday. Atogwe left practice early Saturday because of the problem.
5. Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly missed another day of practice and likely be sidelined for another week, Shanahan said. An MRI and X-rays both were negative, but his foot remains bruised and doctors told Kelly the only activity he could do is ride a stationary bike.
Yes, he’s frustrated having to deal with yet another injury.
“It’s got to the point now where I just try not to lose sleep over it,” Kelly said. “It ain’t in my hands, I can’t control it. I was doing good, too… Luck of the draw man; just my luck.”
Kelly said he has no idea when he’ll return.
6. Linebacker Horatio Blades caused a mini problem on Twitter with this tweet, “Right is right wrong is wrong. Don’t ask people to be loyal when ur not. It’s been real dc appreciate ya”
Blades said he has not been cut, but after a tweet like that it’s only a matter of time. Backup linebackers can’t pop off on Twitter or elsewhere. Unless, of course, they want to get cut.
The Redskins signed linebacker Keyaron Fox on Saturday. Fox can back up at both inside linebacker spots and play special teams; he served as the Steelers special teams captain for two years (but he committed seven penalties on teams last year). The Redskins also have Perry Riley who plays inside and Lorenzo Alexander who can work inside and outside. So Blades, in his fifth camp with Washington, is smart enough to realize he’s in a bad spot. He re-signed with the Redskins last week.
“It’s all right,” Blades said. “It’s a business. I understand that everything is a competition around here, which is good. But I ain’t gonna lie and sit here and say I ain’t feel a little hurt by how things went down.”
But he said he didn’t feel misled by anything the Redskins have told him.
7. Shanahan said of Fox, “He’s a guy we had targeted a long time ago. We feel he can help us at both inside linebacker positions. He knows the position well and the terminology.” Yep, there’s the writing for Blades. But, in all honesty, short backups who weren’t drafted by the current regime should never feel all that safe.
8. Newly-signed defensive lineman Doug Worthington was in camp Monday. He signed Sunday.
9. Quarterback Kellen Clemens missed to attend a funeral.
10. Shanahan discussed this last year, but it’s worth repeating why he doesn’t like live tackling in camp. He said he used to do it in Denver, running a goal-line drill three years in a row.
“I lost one guy each time we had live tackling, one guy for the season,” he said. “It took me four years to figure it out. The chance of getting someone hurt like that doesn’t happen often, but you go through your past experience and do what you think is best and get them ready for the first game and still evaluate your players.”
11. Shanahan said he likes how well the rookies are picking up the schemes. “They’re sharp,” he said. “They pick things up quickly a lot more than a lot of classes I’ve been with.”
12. Here’s a story on Jabar Gaffney and a tragedy that happened at the end of last season with Denver. A teammate committed suicide with a gun Gaffney had legally sold him a few months earlier.
13. Dallas coach Jason Garrett said recently that he might call Denver coach John Fox before the first preseason game to see if they wanted to approach it the same way. Shanahan is not going to do that with Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin.
“First of all I don’t think it’s legal,” Shanahan said. “The second thing is, I’ve always been under the mindset of whatever the other team wants to do we have to be ready for.”
