The Washington Redskins released kicker Shayne Graham on Sunday, but Graham Gano can’t celebrate his job security just yet.
“We did find out coming out of the game that Shayne Graham wasn’t the guy,” special teams coach Danny Smith said. “We didn’t prove the point that we’re solid at kicker yet, but we hope that we will be, and we’ll continue to work with [Gano].”
Graham’s dreadful misses from 29 and 49 yards in a 16-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers brought an anticlimactic end to the Redskins’ summer kicking competition, or at least the first chapter of it.
The Redskins signed the former Virginia Tech standout during training camp to push Gano because Gano’s 69 percent accuracy rate on field goals last season was the worst in the NFL among qualifying kickers. His 11 missed field goal attempts tied for most in the league.
Now the Redskins must decide whether to continue pushing him with another veteran.
“Right now, I don’t see anybody that’s out there that would really compete against him, but you never know what happens down the road,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “We’re always going to try to make it as competitive as we can.
Gano outperformed Graham in practice and made all three of his field goal attempts Friday (32 yards, 34 and 45).
“If they bring someone in that’s fine,” said Gano, who’s entering his second full season. “I’ll just keep focusing on what I can do.
Beck expects to play Friday
Quarterback John Beck fully participated in practice Sunday for the first time since straining his groin eight days prior. He expects to play in Friday’s preseason game at Indianapolis.
Beck participated in controlled seven-on-seven drills last week because he didn’t have to scramble or otherwise move laterally. On Sunday, he took part in game simulations.
“It was good getting back to full 11-on-11 [drills], having linemen in my face, defensive hands in front of you. Seven on seven was good just to keep my rhythm, my timing and not put a lot of strain on it. So now getting the [pass] rush back on … makes a difference.
Beck sat out Friday’s win over Pittsburgh in which Rex Grossman completed 19 of 26 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown.
“One side of me was really thrilled for our guys because all the hard work we did during training camp paid off,” he said, “but I would have loved to have been out there and been a part of it.”
Shanahan said he would determine Wednesday how to divide the quarterback’s playing time against Indianapolis.
Extra points
• Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring) began his second week on the sideline by missing his fourth straight day of practice. The missed time is problematic because Atogwe is new to the team and the defensive scheme.
“I haven’t spent too much time with the guys and haven’t really had the chance to go out and play with them yet, so I’m still adapting and growing into it,” he said. “But I’ll pick it up.”
• Tight end Chris Cooley’s ailing left knee puts his status for the regular-season opener Sept. 11 in question, Shanahan said.
• Running back Ryan Torain’s status will be updated after he visits a specialist about his broken hand Monday.
• Linebacker London Fletcher (hamstring) was limited in team drills. Receiver Malcolm Kelly (foot) did not participate in practice.
• Rich Campbell can be reached at rcampbell@washingtontimes.com.
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