ASHBURN — The Washington Redskins will be without five key starters on Sunday when they face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Coach Jay Gruden rattled off the names in Friday’s press conference — producing a morbid sort of roll call as he cycled through the list of players who did not participate in practice.
Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, out. Tight end Jordan Reed, out. Cornerback Chris Culliver, out. Center Kory Lichtensteiger, out. Left tackle Trent Williams, out.
That leaves the Redskins down two offensive linemen against the top-ranked defense, complicating a matchup that was already going to be difficult before the injuries.
Wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who has not played since straining his left hamstring in the season opener, is questionable and a game-time decision, according to Gruden. Running back Matt Jones, who sprained one of his big toes in last Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, is questionable. Wide receiver Andre Roberts is questionable because of a quad injury he sustained during Thursday’s practice. Defensive end Stephen Paea is also questionable with a back injury. Jones did not practice on Friday and Jackson, Paea and Roberts were all limited.
The one bit of good news is cornerback Bashaud Breeland was a full participant and is probable for Sunday. Breeland sustained a bruised rotator cuff against the Falcons and Gruden said on Monday the situation would have to be closely monitored.
“I can’t imagine having any more,” Gruden said of the injuries. “It’s tough to deal with. It is frustrating. It’s pro football and these things happen at certain times, it’s unfortunate it all happened in bulk. They all wanna play. They’re very competitive players. Nobody is quitting on anybody. They’re all as disappointed as we are.”
According to the Redskins, Williams sustained a neck/spine injury in the game against the Falcons and was limited in Wednesday’s practice. The Redskins said that during that practice, he started to develop some concussion-like symptoms and was placed in the league’s concussion protocol, which is why he will not play on Sunday.
“He developed some headaches and things of that nature so we wanted to play it safe with him and got him tested and that’s where he is right now,” Gruden said.
Lichtensteiger played through the Falcons game with a broken thumb and pinched nerve in his left shoulder and Gruden said a return is “realistic probably after the bye week.”
Culliver, who sat out last week’s game because of a left knee injury, was limited in Wednesday’s practice but hasn’t participated since.
“I think it’s just a matter of him getting the proper treatment and seeing how he does on a daily basis,” Gruden said. “That’s all we can go by.”
Reed is also still in the concussion protocol and did not practice this week, though he was present at Wednesday’s practice observing drills.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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