Redskins 53-man roster is set

It’s official. Your 2009 Washington Redskins:

Quarterbacks: Jason Campbell, Todd Collins

Nobody really saw this one coming. Turns out Colt Brennan hurt his hip in the first preseason game. Add that to the knee and hamstring injuries he sustained against Jacksonville and he’s gone for the year. The WaPo report that Chase Daniel wasn’t even going to be offered a practice squad spot appears to have been wrong, but he still has to pass through waivers first before the team can even make such an offer. So if disaster strikes and both Campbell and Collins go down in the same game, I guess we’re looking at Randle-El under center.

Running Backs: Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Marcus Mason, Mike Sellers

That will make some local preseason fans happy. I am still unconvinced of Mason’s ability to protect the quarterback effectively, but I can’t deny his potential as a ball carrier. Anthony Alridge and Dominique Dorsey just couldn’t hold on to the ball consistently enough to stick on the roster. So without either of those two, is Randle-El still entrenched as punt returner?

Wide Receivers: Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle-El, Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Marko Mitchell

No sixth receiver, so hope Kelly’s knee holds up. Mitchell’s roster spot has been virtually assured for a couple of weeks now based on his impressive preseason performances. Unfortunately, the fifth WR usually makes a team based on special teams ability, and that is a noted weakness of Mitchell. In fact, the exact same goes for Mason with the 4th RB spot – Danny Smith got kinda screwed this preseason. Malcolm Kelly is set as the starter over Devin Thomas for now, so ARE is now in the slot where he belongs.

Tight Ends: Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Todd Yoder

Yoder makes it, probably due to Fred Davis’ continued inconsistency. In a roundabout way, Fred Davis may have cost Chase Daniel his job.

Offensive Line: Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Stephon Heyer, Mike Williams (T), D’Anthony Batiste(T), Chad Rinehart(G), Will Montgomery(C/G), Edwin Williams(C/G)

Jeremy Bridges is gone. He was nothing great, but he was the only experienced backup tackle that had actually played in the last two seasons. I simply don’t understand what’s going on with Mike Williams. As much as I respect the dedication it took to take his comeback effort this far, he has looked utterly ineffective on the field. Now he appears to be the next man up if Samuels goes down. That is terrifying.

Defensive Tackles: Albert Haynesworth, Cornelius Griffin, Kedric Golston, Anthony Montgomery

No surprises here.

Defensive Ends: Andre Carter, Philip Daniels, Lorenzo Alexander, Jeremy Jarmon, Renaldo Wynn, and occasionally Brian Orakpo

Puzzled by Wynn. Rob Jackson and Alex Buzbee must have showed pretty much nothing in order for him to make it.

Linebackers: London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh, Brian Orakpo, H.B. Blades, Chris Wilson, Robert Henson, and sometimes Orakpo

The surprise here came last week when Alfred Fincher was sent packing in the first round of cuts. Still not sure who will be getting most of the playing time at Sam when Orakpo is lined up at DE. A platoon of Wilson and Blades, I guess?

Cornerbacks: DeAngelo Hall, Carlos Rogers, Fred Smoot, Justin Tryon, Kevin Barnes, Byron Westbrook

Two factors probably contributed to Westbrook being kept as a sixth CB: Carlos Rogers’ increasingly alarming calf injury and the fact that neither Tryon nor Barnes has instilled much confidence.

Safeties: LaRon Landry, Chris Horton, Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore

No surprises.

Specialists: Shaun Suisham, Hunter Smith, Ethan Albright

Neither Suisham nor Dave Rayner got a chance to kick many field goals in the preseason games, so this contest must have mostly been decided in practice. Rayner appeared to have a better kickoff leg though, so I’m a little disappointed in the outcome.