ASHBURN — Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Hatcher has never missed more than three regular-season games in any of the nine years he’s played in the NFL.
Hatcher, 33, now in his 10th season, has played in all seven of the Redskins’ games. If the 6-foot-6, 299-pound veteran needs an extra day off or a reduced practice load, the coaching staff obliges.
That was the case on Thursday, when Hatcher was limited in practice to rest his knee after sitting out Wednesday’s session.
“I think everybody needs to do the reps, but there are veteran players that are an exception,” coach Jay Gruden said. “Jason is one of them. He’s played a lot of football. He’s a big man. He has a little soreness when he plays a hard game on Sunday, so he needs a couple more days to recover. Some veterans are like that.”
Center Kory Lichtensteiger and inside linebacker Keenan Robinson did not practice. Lichtensteiger remains sidelined by a disc-related issue that is affecting his left shoulder and neck and is in jeopardy of missing his third consecutive game. Robinson is dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained in Wednesday’s practice, according to Gruden. The Redskins’ coach described it as wear-and-tear in Robinson’s rotator cuff and said the team will evaluate him on Friday.
Cornerbacks Bashaud Breeland, DeAngelo Hall and Chris Culliver, along with wide receiver DeSean Jackson and outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, were all limited in practice.
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Culliver, who has been out the last three games with a left knee injury, was the most active of the three corners in one-on-one drills. Breeland returned to practice for the first time since straining his right hamstring against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the bye week.
Both Kerrigan and Jackson expect to play on Sunday. Kerrigan broke his right hand against the Buccaneers and feels comfortable playing with a cast over the injury. Jackson has not played since tearing his left hamstring in the season opener.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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