Su’a Cravens has knee surgery, but should be back by Week 1

Redskins safety Su’a Cravens had knee surgery Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the situation. 

The procedure was minor, successful and took less than 20 minutes, the person said. Cravens is expected to have recovered fully by the start of the regular season. 

ESPN first reported the surgery.

The surgery comes after Cravens injured his knee Thursday in the Redskins’ first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. 

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Saturday that the Redskins would be taking Cravens’ injury “day by day.”

There was some fear that Cravens could have damaged his meniscus, but tests showed otherwise. Gruden said that an initial MRI Friday had revealed no structural damage, though he did say that doctors might take another look once the swelling in the knee had gone down.

It wasn’t clear when in the game Cravens got hurt and the injury was never announced during the game, though he did spend some time on the sideline with an ice pack on his right knee. Cravens, like many of the Redskins other defensive starters, played only three snaps in the game. 

Although having Cravens healthy for the start of the regular season is — by far — the most important thing for the Redskins, he was having a good training camp while making the adjustment from linebacker to safety.

If he’s unable to practice much before Week 1, he’ll miss valuable time continuing to learn a new position in Washington’s defense. A person close to Cravens said that it was frustrating for Cravens to have to miss practice time, but that the second-year player was in good spirits. 

Safety Deshazor Everett has filled in for Cravens over the past few practices. With Cravens hurt, fourth-round draft pick Montae Nicholson only having started practicing fully Saturday and veteran DeAngelo Hall still on the physically unable to participate (PUP) list, the injuries piling up at safety have given Everett a good opportunity to make the roster.