ASHBURN — If the Washington Redskins were to play a game today, cornerback DeAngelo Hall acknowledged a sprained toe on his right foot would prevent him from being able to join his teammates on the field.
Fortunately for Hall and a host of other players who have missed significant playing time because of injuries, they have a full week of practice ahead to prepare for Sunday’s game against the undefeated New England Patriots.
“If I can function, I’ll be out there, without a doubt,” Hall said following the team’s return from the bye week. “[Sunday is] definitely on the table for myself and a lot of other guys in this locker room.”
Hall, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, center Kory Lichtensteiger, running back Chris Thompson and cornerback Chris Culliver were all present at Monday’s practice, which Gruden called a bonus day for the team following the much-needed week off.
Jackson has been sidelined since tearing his left hamstring in the season opener. Hall sustained his injury, which he identified as a torn plantar plate, against the New York Giants in Week 3 and has not played since. Culliver has missed the last three games because of a right knee injury. Lichtensteiger missed the last two because of a disc-related issue that weakened his neck and left shoulder. Thompson fell on his lower back against the New York Jets and did not play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The only player that seemed certain about his status for Sunday’s game was Jackson.
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“I’m at that point right now I’m ready to go,” Jackson said. “Every day is a building day until Sunday. I should be good to go.”
The Redskins’ wide receiver also said he has the “green light,” though nothing can be certain until he actually takes the field on Sunday. When Jackson initially sustained the injury, he was expected to be out three to four weeks. The game against the Patriots will mark eight weeks since the injury.
When the Redskins told Hall he would be out at least three to four weeks because of his sprained toe, the 12-year veteran expected he would return sooner. Hall entered this season having only missed 24 games in 11 years — 13 of which came last season, when he tore his left Achilles’ tendon in Week 3.
It has been hard for Hall to sit out this many games with a nagging injury, but he acknowledged there is no value in coming back unless he is 100 percent.
“It definitely eats at you,” Hall said. “Any time I’m on the sideline and watching these guys compete, I want to help them. It’s obviously frustrating, but at the end of the day, if you can’t run, you can’t run, no matter how bad you want to be out there. I wanted to be out there so bad the Atlanta game, but I couldn’t move at all. No matter how hard I convinced myself or tried to trick myself, it wasn’t going to happen. You want to rush yourself back but your body is only going to let you do what it can do.
“Last week, I couldn’t even put cleats on without feeling a tremendous amount of pain. It’s just about trying to manage the pain, do what I need to do to play defensive back, really the main focus. If I can go out there and move pretty efficiently, the pain is something I’ve got to deal with. If I can do a lot of the movements required to play defensive back, I’ll be out there without a doubt.”
Like Hall, Culliver is on the fence about his availability for Sunday. He played through his knee injury in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles, but has not played since.
“If I can go 70 plays, I’m going to go,” Culliver said. “Just keep progressing. It feels really good. I’m just taking my time, getting good quality work in. It’s been a battle in being patient but I’m just working through it.”
The major concern in the secondary is the health of cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who injured his left hamstring making a late tackle against the Buccaneers when he chased down Doug Martin after a 49-yard gain. Breeland was at Monday’s practice, but did not participate with the team and did some conditioning on the side.
“Hopefully, we get a full cast of characters back there,” Gruden said. “We’ll have to wait and see Wednesday who can do what, but we’re getting positive results from the guys in rehab and it’s looking good. We’re concerned about Breeland. Obviously, Culliver, D-Hall, they’re still on the fence a little bit.”
Thompson remained at the Redskins’ facility during the bye week and took advantage of the opportunity to work one-on-one with the athletic training staff. He still has a baseball-sized lump on his lower back, a pocket of blood and tissue that he was unable to have drained.
“Without any guys being here, I was able to get a lot of one-on-one work done,” Thompson said. “It helped really get the bruising out the way. The lump is still there. But, it will go away soon, and as for today, I felt good out there. I was a little hesitant because I hadn’t done anything in two weeks.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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