The Washington Redskins will be without hybrid linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens on Sunday in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants.
Cravens is still dealing with an upper arm problem and is out Sunday. Cornerback Quinton Dunbar (concussion) is also out Sunday, further thinning the Redskins’ secondary and special teams coverage units. Defensive lineman Chris Baker (ankle), linebacker Will Compton (knee), running back Robert Kelley (knee), linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (elbow), center Spencer Long (ankle), linebacker Trent Murphy (foot), tight end Jordan Reed (shoulder) and linebacker Martrell Spaight are questionable.
That’s a lengthy list. Baker has often been listed as questionable during the season. He usually plays. Kerrigan has injured his elbow twice this season. It bothers him, but he usually plays. The main questions are Reed, Kelley and what is happening at safety.
Reed has not played well or often since injuring his shoulder on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys. He did not play last week against Chicago. Redskins coach Jay Gruden sounded optimistic Friday.
“Jordan looks great, man,” Gruden said. “He looks like ballerina out there, man. He’s very light on his feet, running and jumping. We’re not doing a lot of contact now, but I think he feels pretty good with his shoulder. Tomorrow we’ll get a better look at him, again, and monitor him in pregame warmup and see where he’s at, see how he feels when he puts the pads back on, and go from there.”
If Kelley is unable to play, he could be replaced by Matt Jones, the person whose job Kelley took.
“We have four good backs here that we have no problem giving the ball to, so I think we’ll be fine,” Gruden said. “Robert did a little bit more today. So it’s a positive sign for him. We’ll wait and see tomorrow.”
Lastly, Cravens was a consideration at safety, where the Redskins continue to deal with poor play and repeated injuries.
“We’ll see,” Gruden said. “I think [Will Blackmon, Duke Ihenacho, and Deshazor Everett] will take the majority of [the snaps]. Those are our three main guys. [Bashaud] Breeland’s been schooled to play some safety also in a pinch. So we’ve got those three and then obviously we signed Josh [Evans].”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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