Cornerback returns from four-game suspension ASHBURN — The four-week break isn’t what he wanted. It may have been what Phillip Buchanon needed, however, to get his ailing shoulder healthy. That’s the positive spin he wants to put on his time away from the Redskins.
Even he has a difficult time completely peddling that line.
“Those four weeks were a good thing,” he said, “but not really.”
– John Keim
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| Returner Brandon Banks is off to a slow start, averaging 22.2 yards on 13 kickoff returns. He’s averaging 10.4 yards on 14 punt returns, but two of his returns have gained a combined 60 yards. Banks has averaged 3.4 yards on his last seven returns. Coach Mike Shanahan said teams are playing him with more urgency. “Some teams are pretty fired up knowing that if there’s a lull he can go the distance,” he said. “We have to get better on the return for sure.” |
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| Tight end Chris Cooley got a kick out of watching Dallas blow a 24-point lead in a loss to Detroit on Sunday, thanks in part to two Tony Romo interceptions returned for touchdowns. “It’s amazing, amazing to watch him choke like that,” Cooley told 106.7 The Fan on Monday. “I’m just saying, I’m up 24 points in the third quarter, if I’m the head coach, I feel like I could probably just take a knee for the rest of the game, punt it away and there’s no way that Detroit’s gonna drive on you that many times. It’s hilarious to watch him throw pick sixes, too, back-to-back. I loved it.” |
Buchanon returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since he started serving his four-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug. The Redskins have not yet activated him and don’t have to do so until Oct. 10. Once they do, they’ll have to release a player as well.
While the rest of the players exit for the bye week, Buchanon will stick around to get treatment on his shoulder — which he hurt in the last preseason game — and work out. It beats the past four weeks when he could not be around the facility.
“It was different for me,” he said. “It was an honest mistake. Things happen. … I don’t want to talk about it. It’s a mistake. It’s over with.”
Buchanon served as the No. 3 cornerback last year, a role held by Kevin Barnes in his absence. How quickly Buchanon, who signed a one-year deal to return in August, regains that role remains to be seen. Buchanon practiced all summer, but only played in one preseason game as coaches wanted to play those who would be needed in the first four games.
“He’s going to help us right away,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “I’ve got to check out what type of football shape he’s in, and hopefully he can help us out against Philadelphia.”
Corner DeAngelo Hall said, “He made a lot of plays for us last year, and he’s a guy who knows what’s going on, a veteran guy and a starter. He’ll definitely add depth. He’ll have a lot of other guys scrambling to keep their positions.”
Yes, he will. And late Tuesday night, rookie Brandyn Thompson said he was the one scrambling. Thompson, a sixth-round pick in April, said via text that he’d been cut. He said the Redskins wanted to sign him to the practice squad if he’s unsigned by another team. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has been reluctant to cut draft picks. But Thompson is the least experienced corner by a couple years. Kevin Barnes and Byron Westbrook had remained ahead of him on the depth chart.
But that’s not Buchanon’s worry. His concern is regaining his standing.
“I had my bye the first four weeks,” Buchanon said. “It’s upsetting but at the same time I’m looking forward to being back on the field. … It definitely feels good. I don’t have a lot to say. I just want to play. That’s it.”
