ASHBURN — LaRon Landry’s season is over. Now comes the next question: Is he done in Washington as well?
Landry, who will become a free agent after the season, will be placed on injured reserve, and a foot specialist, Charlotte, N.C.-based Dr. Robert Anderson, recommended that he undergoes surgery on his Achilles tendon. Landry is expected to see more specialists before making a final decision. He declined comment Thursday.
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The Achilles is not torn, but Shan?ahan did not know how long the rehab process would take if surgery is the option.
| Notes |
| » Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett made it clear what he thinks will happen with London Fletcher in free agency. “He’ll be back,” Haslett said. He said the coaches have let general manager Bruce Allen know how badly they want Fletcher back. Of course, it’s likely up to coach Mike Shanahan and owner Dan Snyder. Still, Allen helps control the money. “I know he’s committed to getting him back,” Haslett said. Allen declined comment on all football matters Thursday. |
| » Former Redskins defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon will be inducted into the Redskins Ring of Fame during the Dec. 24 game vs. Minnesota. Petitbon becomes the 45th member of the Ring of Fame. He played for the Redskins in 1971 and 1972 and served as the defensive coordinator from 1978 to 1992, helping the franchise win three Super Bowls. He was the coach for the 1993 season. |
“But if he feels like it needs to have surgery, obviously something is seriously wrong,” Shanahan said. “He has not been healthy. He just hasn’t been able to go. Hopefully he can get it fixed.”
This is not how Landry wanted to enter free agency. Nor is it what the Redskins wanted to happen because they now have a decision to make. The Redskins could opt to place the franchise tag on him, in which he would likely earn just under $6 million — he counted $5.6 million against the cap this season. But they might view that as a lot of money for a player coming off surgery who will have missed a combined 15 games the previous two years.
“We’ve got to find out exactly how serious it is,” Shanahan said. “If somebody has a serious injury, you’ve got to check out exactly how the surgery went. You’ve got to talk to the doctors. You’ve got to make sure the athlete’s in a good rehab program. But you really have to have a gut feeling.”
Any team interested in him will wait to learn more about his recovery process before deciding what to offer him, if anything. Even before Thursday’s news, there was concern in the organization about Landry’s ability to stay healthy. But that’s why the franchise tag was a good option: The Redskins could keep him for another season to see whether he can stay healthy.
Landry had wanted a multiyear deal — any player does — but now that all depends on the surgery. He likes playing in Haslett’s system, too, which enables him to stay closer to the line and make plays.
And there’s no denying the talent.
“The first eight or nine games before he got hurt [in 2010] I thought he was as good as a player as there was in the NFL,” defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said. “The way he plays with power and speed it brings something to the table that a lot of guys don’t have and it’s hard to find in this league.”
Rookie DeJon Gomes will start in his place alongside Reed Doughty. He has taken over for free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, who has battled various leg injuries — knee, toe and hamstring — that have limited him this season.
“He has natural instincts,” Shanahan said of Gomes, a fifth-round pick in April who already has started two games. “You can see he’s got very good cover skills. He does a good job in the box tackling, and that’s what you’re looking for.”
Landry, the sixth overall pick in 2007, has the talent any team would want. But at what cost and when will he be ready?
“The guy’s an athletic freak,” Redskins safeties coach Steve Jackson said. “To play at a certain level he has to be running on all cylinders, and when he’s not it kind of messes with him a little bit.
“As hard as that guy works, I wouldn’t put anything past LaRon. He can get over and through anything.”
