RICHMOND — Bashaud Breeland will miss at least a month after spraining the MCL in his right knee during the Washington Redskins’ practice on Friday afternoon.
The second-year cornerback slipped and fell while covering rookie wide receiver Quinton Dunbar during one-on-one drills midway through the second practice of training camp.
Washington opens the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Miami Dolphins, meaning there’s a chance he could miss that game if his recovery lingers.
“I think we got the best-case scenario for probably what we thought,” coach Jay Gruden said. “When he was withering in pain there, we thought it was pretty bad, but it looks like it will probably be four to six weeks. He’s a fast healer. A similar thing happened to him last year and he healed pretty quickly, but we’ll take it day by day and see how it is.”
Breeland, 23, played in all 16 games as a rookie last season and took over as a starting cornerback when DeAngelo Hall tore his left Achilles tendon in Week 3. With Hall healthy, and the Redskins signing Chris Culliver in March, Breeland had been vying for snaps as the nickel corner.
Justin Rogers replaced Breeland following the injury, and Gruden said rookies Tevin Mitchel and Kyshoen Jarrett, a free safety, will also have an opportunity to assume that role.
Breeland’s injury came hours after the NFL announced he had been suspended for one game for a violation of the substance abuse policy.
Though he has not been permitted to speak to reporters since the suspension, he released a statement via Twitter early Saturday that addressed the league’s discipline, writing that he made a “stupid rookie mistake a year ago” and that “the storm shall pass.”
If Breeland’s injury lingers past the preseason, he will be able to serve the suspension concurrently with his recovery. He would not be able to do so, however, if the Redskins were to put him on injured reserve.
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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