ASHBURN — Washington Redskins cornerback David Amerson went from starting 15 games last season to playing zero defensive snaps on Sunday in a 24-10 victory against the St. Louis Rams.
On Monday, it became clear Amerson would no longer be part of the Redskins’ plan. The team cut its 2013 second-round draft pick to free up a roster spot for defensive end Frank Kearse.
Amerson was heavily targeted and exposed against the Miami Dolphins in a 17-10 loss in Week 1, when he briefly filled in for DeAngelo Hall.
The Redskins clearly did not want to take that chance again on Sunday against the Rams. Instead, they plugged rookie safety Kyshoen Jarrett into the nickel corner role and used Will Blackmon, who was signed by the team on Tuesday, in dime packages.
Amerson played two-thirds of all defensive snaps as a rookie in 2012 and recorded two interceptions with 10 pass deflections. His numbers regressed his second season with seven pass deflections and no interceptions, and he was suspended for the game against the San Francisco 49ers for missing a team meeting.
Amerson’s inconsistency, coupled with the strong play of Jarrett and Chris Culliver’s pending return from a one-game personal conduct suspension, spelled the end of his time in Washington.
“With the guys that we brought in, with D-Hall playing well, and obviously Culliver, Amerson was just the odd man out, unfortunately,” coach Jay Gruden said on Monday. “He had some good moments here … but we thought it was time to make a move and part ways.
“I just think [Amerson] just needs to work on his consistency. He does show flashes of being an excellent corner. He’s got the size, he’s got all the measurables that you want as a good cornerback. It’s just for whatever reason they don’t always show on a consistent basis when he is out there. Like I said before, we feel really good about the corner spot and the depth that we have.”
The move also shows that general manager Scot McCloughan is not afraid to part ways with high draft picks. Status does not matter. Strong performances do.
Jarrett, selected in the sixth round in this year’s draft, played 39 of the team’s 52 defensive snaps on Sunday. He played just five in Week 1. With Culliver suspended, the Redskins kept Breeland on the outside and trusted Jarrett inside.
“He’s a tough kid,” Gruden said. “In training camp, he was playing free safety. He was playing a little strong safety and then he asked to play some nickel when had some injuries to our secondary and he did a good job in there. He flies around, good sound tackler, knows the position and he’s a guy that’s going to really develop into a solid defensive back — and I say ’defensive back,’ because he’s versatile.
“He can play in the box, he play free safety and he can play nickel. Those guys are valuable to have on your football team and not to mention he’s good on special teams. That was a great pick up for us and he’s going to be here for a long time.”
Jarrett also played 18 of 30 special teams snaps on Sunday, but he relished the opportunity to play slot corner. To Jarrett’s surprise, the Rams rarely tested him, something every rookie defensive back expects. The defense only allowed five receptions by the Rams’ wide receivers on Sunday.
“They trusted me to go out there and handle my responsibility, and that’s what I did — and it was great to be out there and do something and contribute,” Jarrett said.
“After a couple of series I was expecting them to target me and they didn’t.”
The Redskins will finally get a chance to deploy their intended secondary on Thursday against the New York Giants.
Hall and Culliver are expected to be the outside corners, with Bashaud Breeland as the slot corner. It’s likely Jarrett will play in dime packages.
The trio of Hall, Culliver and Breeland never got a chance to play together in the preseason. Breeland was injured the first three games of the preseason and Culliver sat out the final game.
While Hall and Culliver played in Week 1, Breeland was suspended and Culliver was suspended in Week 2.
Free safety Dashon Goldson, who was acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason, has been anxiously waiting to get the group together.
“We’ve gotten better, we haven’t taken a step back,” Goldson said. “It’s hard for chemistry to happen overnight, especially when a team hasn’t practiced together in a week yet.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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