Cornerback uncertain of future with Redskins
ASHBURN – The double move gave him fits in the past, landing him in trouble at the end of last season. And landing him on the bench for the final three quarters Sunday.
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What happens next with Carlos Rogers is uncertain. He worked with the first-unit team in practice, but the Redskins still haven’t said if he will return to the starting lineup. Fred Smoot replaced him Sunday vs. Denver.
“I don’t expect to be on the bench,” Rogers said. “But I made a mistake. It happened and whatever the consequences, I have to deal with and I have to live with it. If that’s not playing, I’m here to support the team.
“I don’t think I’ll be strictly benched. I may come off the bench. I’m not saying that’s what the case is; I don’t know right now. Whatever it is … I’ll continue to prepare and practice like I am the starter.”
He hasn’t pouted, and he spoke without bitterness Wednesday. Quarterback Jason Campbell, a close friend and former college teammate, said he has talked often with Rogers about staying positive through this.
“He’s not the first person or the last person to go through this,” Campbell said. “You have to stay positive and can’t let this get to you.”
After Rogers surrendered a 40-yard touchdown pass to Denver’s Brandon Marshall on the fourth play from scrimmage, he did not play again. He allowed a touchdown pass to Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson last month when he bit on another double move.
“If you don’t go through your progressions you can’t stop any double move,” secondary Jerry Gray said. “That’s what he has to work on.
“If you look at the quarterback [in man coverage], you can’t cover wide receivers in this league.”
It’s something he struggled with at the end of last season — after he was demoted to being the No. 3 corner behind DeAngelo Hall and Shawn Springs.
“It’s not just being aggressive, but it’s being a corner who doesn’t want passes completed on me,” Rogers said. “If it’s third down, my mindset is to get off the field. If they throw to one of those go-to-guys, I don’t want him to catch it and that’s my mindset.
“It’s tough, you think a route is coming, you study formations and this is what they do. They do that and by the time you look back to get a pick or break up the ball, it’s [over his head]. Last Sunday they had three and we didn’t cover one of them.”
Rogers will be a free agent after the season — he’ll be restricted if there’s no new CBA before free agency begins.
But to enter free agency on a strong note, he’ll have to improve vs. double moves.
“I want to be on my receiver. I want to be tight and tough,” he said. “I probably need to stay more over the top and keep my eyes on the receiver. That’s the only thing [secondary coach Jerry Gray] told me to do. Don’t stop my aggression. Don’t stop being physical. Just keep your eyes on the receiver and loosen up your cushion.”
