Tight end Derek Carrier tore ACL, MCL in right knee against Bears

ASHBURN — When the Washington Redskins acquired tight end Derek Carrier from the San Francisco 49ers in August, they knew they were getting raw talent.

The 6-foot-4 former wide receiver naturally had good hands and route-running abilities, but the Redskins were not looking for pass-catching abilities at the position. They already had that in Jordan Reed, who is having his best season yet with 67 receptions, 694 yards and seven touchdowns, all career highs, with three games remaining.

What the Redskins needed was a run-blocking tight end — and they needed one quickly — after season-ending injuries to tight ends Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen in August. Carrier worked diligently with Redskins tight end coach Wes Phillips to improve his run blocking and was relied upon in the team’s frequently-used multiple-tight end sets.

Carrier’s season ended on Sunday when he tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee against the Chicago Bears. It’s an injury that set the Redskins back to where they were at the start of the season.

“It’s a big loss,” coach Jay Gruden said on Monday. “He was our true remaining Y blocking tight end. He was getting better. He wasn’t a finished product and isn’t a finished product. We liked his progression. It’s just unfortunate that it happened. We liked where he was going. He’s a smart guy. He was gaining strength in the weight room and was doing better at the point of attack and backside. He had a ways to go, but we liked where he was going.”

With just three games remaining in the regular season, it could be difficult for the Redskins to add a tight end. Gruden said the Redskins are looking at possible free agents to bring in for a workout on Tuesday morning, but that they are prepared to move forward with the personnel they already have.

Carrier was inactive last week against the Dallas Cowboys because of a sprained left ankle and played just three snaps against the New York Giants in Week 12. Without Carrier on the field, the Redskins have relied on offensive tackles Tom Compton and Ty Nsekhe in jumbo packages.

The one caveat with that solution is that the Redskins, in theory, lose the ability to pass to the second tight end. There are times when Compton declares himself an eligible receiver, but it’s unlikely the ball is thrown his way, let alone at all. When Carrier was inactive against the Cowboys, Compton was on the field for 17 snaps and the Redskins ran the ball 15 times.

“There’s just not a lot of tight ends on the streets anymore, not a lot that can do both — block in the core and run routes,” Gruden said. “Hopefully, there’s one or two out there that we can work out and maybe sign. But if not, like I said, we have it in-house. I think we can get by with the guys we have. Obviously, you don’t have the flexibility that you’d like to have at that position if Compton is your tight end in some of your base personnel stuff. We’ll have to do it with what we have.”

The other option is to implement tight end Je’Ron Hamm, who the Redskins signed from the practice squad to the active roster on Nov. 23 after they cut tight end Anthony McCoy. Hamm, like Carrier, was a former wide receiver in college, having played the position at Louisiana-Monroe. The challenge there is that Hamm, who is 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, still needs to improve his run blocking, which could incline the Redskins to stick with Compton.

Hamm has played just three snaps on offense this season.

“He’s come in and he’s learned the system,” Gruden said. “He’s gained some strength in the weight room, which is good. He’s one of these guys you like to have him in your building where you develop him. He got some reps last week a little bit, spot duty, did an adequate job. We just have to see. He’ll get more reps in practice and we’ll have to see how good we feel about it, blocking the point of attack backside. We know he can run and catch the ball, that’s a good thing. But blocking is one thing he’s got to work on and Wes has done a good job working on it with him.”