RICHMOND, Va. — After day two of practice with the Texans, the injuries are continuing to pile up for Jay Gruden and the Redskins. Friday saw four more players go down and miss part of or all of practice.
Tight end Logan Paulsen sat out with a sprained big toe and linebacker Preston Smith has a groin injury, while backup defensive end Frank Kearse banged his knee but should be ready for tomorrow, Gruden said. Defensive end Stephen Paea has a strained groin and left practice.
Gruden also provided updates on the guys already sidelined due to injury. Cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Chris Culliver each have groin injuries and are day-to-day, as is Jeron Johnson with a hamstring injury. David Amerson is close to returning.
“These injuries are unfortunate but it’s also fortunate for guys to get some great reps,” Gruden said. “The positive is we are looking at some new guys. The bad thing is these veteran guys we are counting on aren’t getting the reps. We’ll get them healthy.”
It’s tough for defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who has to get the new guys up to speed quickly.
“There’s a lot of yelling and screaming,” he said. “They have to work a little bit harder, they have to stay up a little later, obviously. But again, it’s all about opportunity, and those guys are getting an opportunity and are taking advantage of it.”
Matt Jones impresses
Rookie running back Matt Jones had another good day Friday. He worked with the second team and was finishing runs, something he had not been doing until challenged by the coaching staff.
“He’s been challenged a little bit to finish runs,” Gruden said after practice. “We want him to finish violently and he did that today. He had a much better day today then he did yesterday.”
Jones agreed with his head coach’s assessment.
“Just coming from college you finish runs out 20 yards and come back,” he said. “Here they want you to finish all the way through. That’s what pro guys do, they finish runs. I took it to heart and to the field.”
He had a very impressive run down the left sideline where he ran over a Texans’ cornerback, much to the delight of the crowd and his teammates.
More red zone work
The teams took on more situational work today during 11-on-11 team drills. Both the first and second teams scored touchdowns. Griffin threw a fade pass to Pierre Garcon for a touchdown and Colt McCoy had a touchdown pass to Evan Spencer.
Attendance
The team announced an attendance of 7,150 for today’s practice.
For their final joint practice, the teams line up for a controlled scrimmage Saturday.
