Redskins Set Final Roster

Saturday night, the Washington Redskins decided who would be on the final roster, and of course, there were a few surprises.

The biggest surprises for me were on the offensive side with the decision to cut offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges as well as undrafted rookie quarterback Chase Daniel in order to keep young offensive linemen D'Anthony Batiste and Edwin Williams.

I thought for sure Bridges would make the final cut, with the lack of a veteran lineman to jump in if any injuries were to occur, but the team decided to get younger at the position (which the needed to) and keep two younger guys instead. The cutting of Daniel was a risk, as the team seemed to greatly desire him on the practice squad, but he has already signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad and is probably forever out of the Redskins system.

On the defensive side, linebacker Robert Thomas was cut in favor of cornerback Byron Westbrook. Thomas seemed a good candidate for the team because he was a veteran player who would contribute on special teams. Vinny Cerrato, however, felt Westbrook played his tail off in the preseason, could perform on special teams, and deserved a spot.

So the 53 are set, and all that's left is the season to start this Sunday against the Giants of New York at 4:15. Should be a great one.

Back in Action

To all my loyal readers (Hi Mom!), I want to apologize for my lack of posts the past month. It's been a busy time for me, and it's been hard to get my thoughts down. Things should still be slow as training camp approaches, but I'm going to try to get posts up with a little more regularity.

On that note, there has been some action at Redskins Park as of late. The biggest move has been the release of longtime right tackle Jon Jansen.

This move has been speculated over for sometime, but the timing was a bit of a surprise. It seemed like the team was committed to letting him challenge for a starting spot. If that didn't happen, he would have had the opportunity to be the main backup up at essentially all positions across the line.

As the OTA's progressed, coaches noticed that Jansen had not made any improvement since last season and it was in the best interest of the team for the two to part ways.

Jansen has been a fighter for this organization for a long time, but it was his time to go. He's be a mainstay of this line for the past decade, and it will be difficult to fill his shoes. He was a leader in the locker room and was a consummate 'Redskin'.

The release of Jansen will allow younger players to step in and get his reps along the line, but more importantly clears up the competition for starting right tackle. The players going after the position will now be Jeremy Bridges, Stephon Heyer and Mike Williams. This competition, however, should not show a true front runner until the pads are on, but it's probably between Bridges and Heyer as Williams battles to get his weight down and back into football shape.