Snap counts: Redskins still searching for best personnel fit in secondary

The Washington Redskins played 77 snaps on defense in Sunday’s 44-16 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the second-most they’ve had to play all season.

One thing that stood out was how the personnel changed in the secondary. Last week, cornerback DeAngelo Hall returned to the lineup and played 17 snaps at strong safety against New Orleans. He rotated with Jeron Johnson, who took over as the starter for Trenton Robinson.

However against Carolina, Hall only played six snaps. Earlier last week, Gruden was asked about Hall’s transition to safety.

“It’s a transition I think he can make,” Gruden said. “How much of it moving forward, we’ll determine that later.”

After Sunday’s game, it appears the Redskins are still trying to find the best fit. With cornerbacks Bashaud Breeland and Chris Culliver finally healthy, Gruden is tasked with finding a way to mix in Kyshoen Jarrett and Will Blackmon, as well as Hall.

Breeland played 74 snaps against the Panthers. Culliver played 70, Johnson played 41, Blackmon played 38 and Jarrett played 35. Jarrett and Blackmon played mostly in nickel and dime packages, but Jarrett also played snaps at strong safety.

Jarrett was drafted as a free safety and surprised the Redskins when he emerged as a dependable nickel corner earlier this season. With the strong safety position in flux, it will be interesting to see if the Redskins feel compelled to take a longer look at Jarrett at the position now that the cornerbacks are healthy.

Here are a few other observations from Sunday’s snap counts:

** After playing 50 percent of offensive snaps against the Saints, DeSean Jackson played 88 percent against Carolina. Ryan Grant took a backseat, playing just five snaps after playing 19 last week. By halftime, the Redskins trailed, 31-14, and attempted 17 passes in the second half compared to four rushing attempts. That led to an increase in playing time for Andre Roberts, who logged 18 snaps, in his return from an ankle injury.

** Running back Chris Thompson played 27 snaps, more than Matt Jones and Alfred Morris combined. Morris played just three snaps before he aggravated his rib injury on the Redskins’ first series. Morris would have certainly played more snaps had he not been injured, but though it may not have been many more. The Redskins’ need to pass the football likely would have kept Morris on the bench. In previous games, when the run game struggles like it did on Sunday, Morris’ play time is the first to be reduced.

** Terrance Knighton missed a day at practice last week to see a specialist about his cluster headaches. The Redskins’ nose tackle said he is getting more sleep this week, but he is still experiencing symptoms from the painful condition. After hearing Knighton explain the severity of these headaches, which are preventing him from sleeping more than a couple of hours each night, it’s remarkable he is able to play through them. Knighton played just 11 snaps against the Saints, but returned on Sunday against Carolina to play 32 snaps.

Here are the full snap counts, with the number of snaps played in parentheses:

Offense: RT Morgan Moses (48/48), LG Spencer Long (48/48), RG Brandon Scherff (48/48), QB Kirk Cousins (48/48), C Josh LeRibeus (47/48), WR Jamison Crowder (43/48), WR DeSean Jackson (42/48), LT Trent Williams (38/48), WR Pierre Garcon (29/48), TE Jordan Reed (28/48), RB Chris Thompson (27/48), TE Derek Carrier (23/48), WR Andre Roberts (18/48), RB Matt Jones (18/48), LT Ty Nsekhe (10/48), WR Ryan Grant (5/48), FB Darrel Young (3/48), RB Alfred Morris (3/48), T Tom Compton (1/48), C Brain de la Puente (1/48).

Defense: ILB Will Compton (77/77), FS Dashon Goldson (77/77), CB Bashaud Breeland (74/77), CB Chris Culliver (70/77), ILB Perry Riley (70/77), OLB Ryan Kerrigan (65/77), OLB Trent Murphy (54/77), DE Chris Baker (53/77), SS Jeron Johnson (41/77), CB Will Blackmon (38/77), FS Kyshoen Jarrett (35/77), OLB Preston Smith (35/77), NT Terrance Knighton (32/77), DE Stepehn Paea (31/77), DE Ricky Jean Francois (28/77), NT Kedric Golston (19/77), CB DeAngelo Hall (6/77), CB Quinton Dunbar (3/77), ILB Mason Foster (2/77), CB Deshazor Everett (2/77).

Special teams: Carrier (26/32), Foster (22/32), Houston Bates (22/32), Young (22/32), Everett (19/32), Golston (18/32), Johnson (17/32), Blackmon (16/32), Murphy (15/32), Thompson (15/32), W. Compton (13/32), Breeland (12/32), Grant (11/32), Goldson (11/32), Dunbar (11/32), T. Compton (10/32), Jean Francois (9/32), Jarrett (9/32), Roberts (9/32), Kerrigan (8/32), Hatcher (8/32), Nsekhe (8/32), Tress Way (7/32), Nick Sundberg (7/32), Smith (6/32), Dustin Hopkins (5/32), Crowder (5/32), Moses (2/32), Long (2/32), Scherff (2/32), Williams (2/32), Knighton (2/32), Cousins (1/32).