- The Washington Times - Thursday, September 26, 2019

ASHBURN — The Washington Redskins expect Case Keenum to start Sunday’s game against the New York Giants after the quarterback returned to practice Thursday from a foot injury.

Keenum was a full participant, taking the majority of the snaps. Rookie Dwayne Haskins received some first-team reps, but coach Jay Gruden said he anticipated Keenum starting “unless he has a setback.”

Keenum suffered a foot sprain in Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, causing him to miss one day of practice. The 31-year-old underwent an MRI on Wednesday and had to wear a walking boot.

He didn’t limp when throwing the ball Thursday.

“It’s feeling better,” Keenum said. “Short week, you know how these things go. Pretty sore after the game, wanted it to calm down, get a little swelling out. Stabilize it. Just walking around, they put me in it for the day.”

Against the Bears, Keenum had his worst performance with the Redskins. He threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles — leading some to call for Haskins to start.


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But Gruden backed Keenum as the starter, saying he’d stick with him until he no longer felt the signal-caller gave them the best chance to win.

“I’m going to be better going forward,” Keenum said Tuesday after reviewing the game film.

Colt McCoy also practiced in full Thursday — meaning all three Redskins participated in practice for the first time since Aug. 13. McCoy is working his way back from a leg injury suffered last season.

Besides the quarterbacks, guard Brandon Scherff (ankle) and center Chase Roullier (knee) missed practice for the second straight day. Both players suffered injuries in the Bears loss and were initially listed as day-to-day.

If Scherff or Roullier can’t go, veteran Tony Bergstrom will play in one of their spots. If both starters are out, rookie guard Wes Martin could make his season debut.

Rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin also popped up on the injury report Thursday with a hamstring injury. He was limited in practice. Asked if the injury was serious, Gruden said, “I sure hope not.”

The Redskins, meanwhile, are looking to avoid an 0-4 start for the first time since 2001.

Should Keenum suffer a setback, Gruden said he feels “pretty good” if he needed to turn to Haskins.

“We’d have a plan for him if he did go in without a doubt. As we would with anybody, but he did fine,” Gruden said. “I think the most important thing for him is to make sure you continue to study protections and all that stuff, so you can protect yourself with all the blitz looks that teams give you on third down especially. Other than that, he’s done a nice job.”

• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.

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