Injuries a Concern as Opener Draws Near

The on-going debate of whether to eliminate preseason games in favor of a longer regular season might be nearing an end, but it didn't happen soon enough for Redskins fans. The 2010 preseason has proved to be a costly one in terms of losing key players to the injury bug in the first year under new head coach Mike Shanahan.

The first game against the Bills went pretty smooth. No one got hurt. The Skins rolled to an easy victory. All seemed well.

The next week against the Baltimore Ravens, the Washington faithful saw two starters go down in the first half to knee injuries: fan favorite Mike Sellers and free safety Kareem Moore. Both did not play against the Jets in the third preseason game, and will both likely miss the fourth.

Malcolm Kelly, the Redskins' second round pick in 2008, has yet to play this preseason after tweaking his leg while working out with Donovan McNabb prior to training camp this summer. Having not put up great numbers in his few years in the NFL and missing these preseason games could spell bad things for Kelly in a Washington uniform. Final roster cuts are coming up fast, and unless he performs well above expectations in the final tune-up against the Cardinals, he is going to have to hope someone in the front offices likes him.

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The biggest concern for the Washington Redskins is the status of quarterback Donovan McNabb. The new hurler for the Skins injured his ankle while being tackled in the game against the Ravens. McNabb finished out the half, but had protective wear around his ankle for the rest of that game. He did not play against the Jets and is not expected to play against Arizona.

What really comes across as concerning for the Redskins organization and their fans is the statement made by Shanahan saying that McNabb may not be ready to go for the opener against the Dallas Cowboys at home on Sunday Night Football. Without McNabb, the Skins would look to Rex Grossman to lead the troops against the 'Boys, which is something that no Redskin fan should be looking forward to after seeing him against the Jets. He completed just eight of his 16 pass attempts, and mishandled a snap that led to him kicking the ball out of the endzone, resulting in a safety. While McNabb didn't exactly look like he was ready to get back to conference championship mode based on his performance in the first two games, he did look a lot better, and more fluid with the offense, than Grossman did.

Hopefully Shanahan is just preparing for the worst. Hopefully he is just game planning for McNabb not to be healthy for week one in the chance that he actually is still hurt. Hopefully, for all Skins fans' sakes, it will be #5, not #8, under center in two weeks.

By Matthew Dagen
ProFootball-fans.com Washington Redskins Correspondent